Nights In White Satin
by Faded Galaxia
Summary: Molly ran away from home...only to end up in the arms of a certain chocolatier. SLIGHTLY REWRITTEN
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi all! This category sneaked past me for a while, and I've had this story brewing in my head for quite some time now. Ever since I saw the movie, actually. ^_^ Well, I hope y' all like it, and here it goes!**

**Chapter 1  
**

The English countryside rolled drearily past as Molly rested her head on the glass. Rain drops dotted the smooth surface, but she paid no attention to them. She was too lost in thought.

She still couldn't believe that she had finally escaped. Sure, she had been thinking about it for months, but she never truly believed that she would actually _run away_. The idea of it was always in the back of her mind. One last hit was all it took.

Molly's hand involuntarily flew to the top of her head, touching it lightly. It was still tender. Bringing her fingers down in front of her face, she saw a few, small spots of blood. 'Great,' she thought, adjusting her black beret to cover up the cut, 'just what I need.'

The train began to slow down as it pulled into the station. Molly picked up her guitar case and waited for everyone to leave the train before leaving it herself. Stepping off the train, she found herself in London, the place where she had said that she would go if she ever ran away. She sighed, pulled her frayed jean jacket closer around her U2 Rattle and Hum concert t-shirt, picked up her guitar case, slung her duffel bag over her shoulder, and headed out into the streets.

Unfortunately, as she came to find out, it was no longer sprinkling, as it was while she was on the train. It was now raining very hard, with the wind blowing fiercely, making each individual droplet feel like a needle when it landed on your skin. Standing under the wide awning of the station, she tried to figure out where she was going to go.

It was getting rather late in the afternoon, she discovered when she looked at her watch. Some places might be closed. Scanning the streets for any activity, she saw no sign of a cab. Leaning up against the building wall, she thought of her two options: stay in the nice, warm, train station, or wander the streets, looking for someone to take her in. While the first one seemed the most logical one to take, Molly leaned more towards the second one. She needed somewhere to stay, and one could only live on food from a vending machine for so long. Besides, she had been called the "queen of the illogical" before. Taking a deep breath, she started walking around on the streets, trying to find somewhere warm and dry that would let her stay there for a while.

Wandering the streets for what seemed like an eternity (but was really only about a half hour), Molly came across a small coffee shop. Checking the sign on the door, she saw that it would still be open for a few more hours. Looking around for no particular reason, she pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Immediately, she was engulfed in warmth and the smell of coffee. Looking around, she saw that it was a nice looking shop, with some large, fluffy couches in the back, a few tables closer to the front, and what looked like a small stage in one corner. She took off her beret, stuffed it in her jean jacket pocket, and went up to the counter.

"Excuse me." She said to the woman behind the counter. The lady turned around and smiled at her.

"Well, hello there! You look absolutely drenched! What can I do for you?"

"Where is your bathroom?"

The lady let out a small laugh, then pointed to the back with a long, blood red nailed finger. "Right back there, hon, second door on the left. Go get dried off before you catch a cold or something worse!"

"Thank you." Molly said as she rushed off into the bathroom. The lady was right; she needed to dry off before she caught something. She had a history of catching very bad illnesses, having been in the hospital many times because of them. Grabbing the handicapped stall, so she'd have more room to move around while she changed, she proceeded to squeeze out her strawberry-blonde hair into the toilet bowl. When every last ounce of water that she could squeeze out could be squeezed out, she then squeezed out her beret. Rummaging through her duffel bag, she pulled out her maroon Smithereens shirt and a pair of black jeans. She kept her tennis shoes on. They were perfect in the rain. She stuffed all of her wet clothes into the outer pocket of her duffel bag and came out of the stall.

Pausing in front of one of the mirrors, she lifted up a bit of her hair. The cut that she had had stopped bleeding, but had started to sting a bit. She grabbed some paper towels, got them wet, put a little soap on them, and started to clean out the cut.

"Shit!" She put her hands on the sink. "God that hurts! I knew I should have taken some hydrogen peroxide or something…" Bracing herself for a few seconds, she studied herself in the mirror. It had been a while since she had seen herself in a large mirror. She didn't look half bad for what had been happening for the past few months; her cheeks may have been a little more sunken in, and her eyes had some dark circles underneath them, and she was a bit paler than before, but it wasn't anything too noticeable. Pulling a bit of her hair back again, she started to work on cleaning the cut, breathing deeply as she did so. When she felt like it felt better, she fixed her hair in such a way that would cover it up, tossed the paper towels in the trash can, and headed back out into the coffee shop.

"Well, well!" The lady behind the counter said as Molly pulled up a stool. "You feel a bit better?"

Molly nodded. "Yeah, just a bit cold. Could I get some coffee?"

The lady laughed. "Well, of course, hon! That's what we do here! What can I get for ya?"

"Tall, white chocolate mocha, skim milk, 1 shot of espresso. Also, do you have any green tea?" Molly was a Starbucks regular, since where she went to secondary school was right next to one. Her friends swore that she had had at least one of everything in that place. She didn't put it past her.

"Ah, a coffee regular. Yes, we do have green tea, but I'll have to brew some up fresh for ya. That okay?"

Molly nodded. "That's fine."

The lady turned around and started making her coffee and brewing her tea. Molly chewed on one of her nails as she took in a few more details of the place. A blown-up replica of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" was painted on the back wall, over by the stage. There were 3 stools next to the one Molly was sitting on, all painted black and covered with a robin's egg blue cushion. It was one of those kinds of places where one could stay for hours and not really realize it. Molly loved it.

"Here ya are, hon!" The lady put the cup of coffee on the counter in front of Molly. "Hope ya like it."

"Thank you." Molly took a sip of the coffee. It was fabulous. Possibly even better than a Starbucks one. 'Nah,' she thought as she took a longer sip, 'nothing's better than that.'

"You're from out of town, aren't you?"

"Is it really that obvious?" Molly laughed a bit.

"I've owned this coffee shop for about 15 years now. I have a way of knowing." She tapped the side of her head. "So, where did ya come from?"

"Manchester, actually." Molly took another sip of the coffee, trying not to notice the lady's look of astonishment.

"Manchester? All that way? That's a long way for a young girl like you to be traveling alone! Why'd you leave?"

"I ran away." Molly replied sheepishly. She was beginning to feel a little degraded.

"Ran away? From home, you mean?" The lady's wide eyes were squinted a bit, giving her an all-around look of being intrigued. It looked a little creepy.

Molly nodded. "Yes, from home. I ran away."

The lady now looked concerned. "Well, where ya gonna go for the night, hon? Got somewhere to stay?"

"Well, umm…hey, do you have a phone?" An idea just came into her mind. Her older sister, Miranda, lived in Greenwich. If she could get a hold of her, maybe she'd let her stay with her for a while.

"Not in here, but there's a pay phone just a little ways down the street. I can watch your stuff for you, if you'd like. It might seem a little suspicious to see someone lugging all this around just to use a pay phone."

"That would be great. Thank you so much Ms…umm…"

"Just call me Angie. Like the Stones song."

"Okay. Thank you very much, Angie. I really appreciate it." She grabbed some change out of her duffel bag and was about to leave when she realized something. "Sorry! I'm Molly, by the way."

Angie smiled. "I thought so. You look like a Molly. Here." Angie reached behind the counter and pulled out a huge purple umbrella. "You're going to need this."

"Oh, thank you!" Molly walked out the door, popped the umbrella open, and went down to the pay phone.

* * *

"Hello, operator? I'd like the number for a Miranda Caulfield, Greenwich area…yes, if you could connect me, that would be great!...Thank you."

Molly was huddled into the tiny pay phone, trying to keep herself warm. The rain had stopped, but the temperature outside was extremely cold.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

"Hello? Is this Jeff?...yes, this is Molly…I've been better. Hey, is my beloved sister there?...She is?...Well, Jeff you know how much I _adore_ talking to you, but can you give the phone to her?...Thanks….Hey there Mira! How's it going?...mmmhmmm…great to hear!...I'm calling from a pay phone…In London…yes, I'm in London!...I ran away…you know, I'd rather not tell you over the phone. It's more of a face-to-face kind of thing…mmhmm…hey, listen, I need to ask you a favor. Would I be able to stay with you?...well, I've been planning this for a while, but actually _doing_ it was kind of a whim thing…hey, hold on, I gotta put some more coins in." She rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a few more quarters.

"Okay, all paid up. Now, where was I?...oh yeah, can I come stay with you for a while?...Please?...I can babysit! You know that! I'm a good aunt! Sherri loves me!...mmmhmm….yeah…Thank you! Thank you so much! You truly are a lifesaver, Miranda, the pineapple kind!...I know you don't like the pineapple ones, but I do. Deal with it…I'll be in a coffee shop on the corner of 5th and Cherry…mmmhmm…yep, that's the one!...Okay…I'll see you then…hugs and kisses, love ya…Bye."

Molly hung up the phone. She was glad she thought of that. Otherwise, she'd be stuck sleeping in the gutter or on the doorstep of someone's house. In other words, she'd be pretty much screwed. She went back to the coffee shop where she was greeted by Angie's smile.

"That was quick! Everything taken care of?"

Molly nodded as she sat back on the stool she was on before. "Yep, it's all taken care of. I just remembered that my sister lives in Greenwich, which, as you know, isn't very far from here, so she's coming to pick me up here. She said I could stay with her."

"Well, aren't you just the luckiest runaway that's ever come in here!" Angie put her hands on her hips. "Most of em wind up sleeping in the gutter or on someone's doorstep. You still look cold." Her voice returned to the concern tone she had earlier. "Drink some more of that coffee. The green tea is all done, too, if you want that."

"That would be great. Thanks, Angie."

"Don't mention it. It's my job, after all." Angie filled up a cup of steaming hot green tea and put it on the counter in front of her. "Here you are. A fresh, hot cup of green tea. Drink it up, it's good for you."

The bells on the door jingled, meaning someone had come in. Angie went to tend to that person, leaving Molly alone to enjoy her coffee and tea. It might be a while before Miranda got there. She sipped some of her green tea, feeling a slight burst of energy as she did so. Staring out the window, she silently prayed that she hadn't made a mistake in leaving. It may have not been exactly what she would call a good place to be, but it was at least somewhere. She just hoped she hadn't made a bad choice.

* * *

"So, girl, what's going on?" Miranda said as she started up the car. Molly was sitting in the passenger's seat. Miranda turned down the volume of the stereo a bit, eager to hear whatever her sister had to say.

Molly sighed, turned to her sister, and lifted up her hair where the cut was. Miranda looked over at her, turned back to the road, turned back, and pulled over to the side. "Oh my God!" she said, seemingly choking back tears, "What happened?"

Molly looked out front window, not wanting to look Miranda in the eyes as she said this. "It happened yesterday night. I had gotten up to go to the bathroom, and you know how we have those type of doors on the shower with the metal edges that hurt when you hit anything up against them?"

Molly could see Miranda nodding out of the corner of her eye. "Yeah, I remember that."

Molly looked down at her half-painted nails. "Well, I had just gotten done washing my hands, when I heard someone behind me. Next thing I knew, Dad had a hold of me, with his hand over my mouth. Last thing I remember was him slamming my head against one of the metal edges of the shower." Her hand went up to the cut, which was starting to hurt again. "Lord knows what else he did."

"Oh honey…" Miranda trailed off, reaching over and giving her little sister a hug. "I had hoped that he wouldn't…that he…oh honey…"

"That's when I had had it." Molly said when they had gotten back on the road. "I knew that I had to leave, and soon. So, I grabbed my duffel bag, threw a bunch of stuff in it, grabbed my guitar case, stole the car and drove to the bank, got all of my money out of my savings account, drove to the train station, got a ticket to London, rode the train all the way there, chilled in that coffee shop for a while, and then called you."

"I'm really glad you called me, honey." Miranda said as she turned up the volume on the stereo a bit. Molly and her sister had both been nicknamed "human jukeboxes" by their very extensive music knowledge. "I was afraid that after I left that something like this would happen. I wanted you to come live with me, but mom wouldn't let me take you. You know she doesn't believe anything you or I say when it comes to dad." She turned the stereo up a bit more. "Ah, thought so!" Turning it up even more, Molly realized what it was; Eric Clapton's masterpiece, "Layla", the first song that Miranda had taught Molly on the guitar, and also one of her all-time favorite songs. They both started singing to it.

"What'll you do when you get lonely/And nobody's waiting by your side?/You've been running and hiding much too long/You know it's just your foolish pride," at this, they both held pretend microphones to their mouths, "Laaaaaaaayla, you've got me on my knees, Laaaaaayla, begging darling, please, Laaaayla, darling won't you ease my worried miiiiind…."

"Well, here we are!" Miranda announced about an hour later. She pulled up into the driveway of a one story beige ranch house. Just as Molly was turning to open the door to the car, Miranda gently grabbed her arm. Molly turned to look at her.

"Honey, just know this…if there's anything that you want, if there's anything I can do, just call me, okay?"

Molly suddenly started laughing. Miranda looked at her funny. "What? What's so funny?"

"How Beatles was that? 'If there's anything that you want, if there's anything I can do'…sound familiar?"

The two of them broke into song. "Just call on me, and I'll send it along, with love, from me to you!" Miranda put her hand over her eyes. "I cannot _believe_ I just did that. It was supposed to be all serious and everything…my God." She started laughing.

Molly got out of the car, grabbed her things from the trunk, and went into the house.

"Boy, you guys have redecorated since the last time I've been here!" Molly exclaimed as she stood in the doorway. The walls were painted a light blue, the carpet was a navy color, drapes hung in the window…everything was different.

"We didn't redecorate," Miranda replied as she squeezed past her sister, "we only unpacked. The last time you were here, there were boxes everywhere."

"I don't remember it being so…blue, though."

"Oh, well, that we did. Jeff likes blue, and, as you know, I do too."

Molly nodded. Miranda had painted a mural on one of her walls when she was 15 of the sky, and had saved up her money to buy her very own navy colored bedspread. In her case, liking blue was an understatement. Miranda was **obsessed** with blue.

"It looks really nice. You guys did a good job with it all." Molly smiled.

"Oh, we didn't do it. It was professionally done. Here, let me show you to the guest room." She pulled on her arm, causing Molly to come with her down the hallway to the guest room.

The room itself was small, just at the end of the hallway. It was also painted blue, with the same navy carpet. The walls were lined with shelves, chock full of Precious Moments, Molly's grandmother's collection that was left to Miranda when she passed away. A small window was on the back wall, and the bed was placed to the right of it.

"Boy, this room is cozy." Molly laid her bag and her guitar case down and plopped down on the bed.

Miranda stood in the doorway. "Yep. Jeff said we'd need a guest room at one point. I didn't believe him. Just another instance in which he's right." She walked in and sat down on the bed next to Molly. "You gonna be okay?"

Molly stared up at the stucco ceiling. "Yeah, I'll be okay. I'm kinda tired, so, umm…" she looked over at her sister and started making shooing motions.

Miranda rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, I'll go. You look like hell anyways."

"Oh thanks. Just what a girl wants to hear."

Miranda laughed. She walked up to the doorway, then stopped and turned back to Molly. "I'm proud of you, girl."

"…For what?"

"For taking control." Miranda said. "I only wish I would have had the courage to do what you did. Good night, hon." She closed the door behind her.

Molly crashed back on the abundance of pillows behind her. She had a feeling that everything would turn out okay now, that everything would be normal.

…well, as normal as it could be with her and her sister under the same roof again. Smiling, she pulled the quilt over her head and fell into a deep sleep.

**A/N: Whoo! You know, I had to rewrite this chapter 3 TIMES before I got it right. Or, at least, where it all kind of made sense. Hope she's not a Mary-Sue. If she is, tell me, and I'll try to tweak her up a bit. And, alas, no Willy yet. He'll show up here soon, I promise! Had to get it all layed out first, I'm sure you all understand…well, R+R, and I'll get the next one up ASAP!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack! Haha! Sorry this one took so long…getting ready for school and such. Forgive me! School is getting nearer, and it's really starting to freak me out…but, it will come anyways, there's no stopping it. I just wish it wasn't here already…*sniffles* Hey! I just figured out how to do the divider lines! Thank the Lord for an inquisitive mind! ^_^**

**Aaaand, before I forget, I should put a disclaimer on here. The only things I own are Molly, Miranda, and all their family, Angie, and the few other random characters that may show up at some point or another. I don't own Willy, though I wish I did sometimes…heh…but, I don't. So, don't sue me! ^_^**

**All righty, now, on with the chappie!**

**Chapter 2**

Molly walked in a daze out into the kitchen. She glanced over at the clock on the stove. "11:32" stared back at her in neon green numbers. She had slept over 16 hours.

Stretching her arms over her head, she made her way into the refrigerator. She hadn't eaten since 2 days ago. Needless to say, she was rather hungry. Opening it, she tilted her head to one side, then the other, leaned back, and sighed. There wasn't much in there. Just jars of baby food for Sherri. Glancing left and right, she looked at the jars to see if there was any Dutch Apple Pie. Lo and behold, there was a jar of it. She grabbed it and went to go get a spoon.

"Oh, what might this be?" she sat down at the kitchen table, putting the jar down and picking up a note. It read:

_Molly girl~_

_ Jeff, Sherri, and I have all gone out for the day. You slept in too late to come with us, so haha! ^_^ _(at this, Molly rolled her eyes.)_ Help yourself to any of the food you can find, and, if you go out, take this phone with you. It's my old cell phone, and it's still got about 300 minutes on it. It won't run out until the end of next month. It's not like there's anything exciting here, but if you want to explore, knock yourself out. There's some corner shops and stuff a little ways from here, just go down the driveway, turn right, go to the stop sign, turn right again, and follow that road till you get there. You can't miss em. There's a great retro shop around there, too, which I bet you would adore. Have fun! ^_^_

_ Call me if you need anything – 573-8908. Love ya,_

_ ~*Miranda*~_

"Huh. Okay." Molly said as she picked up the cell phone. It was a flip phone with a few dents and scratches on it, but, other than that, it looked like it worked just fine. "Sweet. I can go explore. I should probably take a shower first, then." She stuck the phone in her pocket, picked up the baby food and the spoon, and headed down to the bathroom.

* * *

Miranda was right. There really wasn't much where they were. It took Molly about a half hour to get to those corner shops that Miranda had told her about. She was happy that it was a nicer day, 70 degrees and sunny. Her favorite kind of weather.

She walked past all the shops, stopping to check each sign before moving on. The baby food didn't do much for her, and she was still really hungry. Plus, she was looking for that retro shop that Miranda had told her about. When she finally found it, she jumped up in the air a bit, then went in.

A strong smell of incense came over her as she stood in the doorway. She smiled. Only really good retro shops smelled like incense. "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac was playing softly over the shop intercom.

'I like this place already…' she thought as she went over to the back wall where all the records were. She didn't own a record player, and she didn't see one at Miranda's house. Nor did she know anyone who had a record player. It didn't matter, just seeing those old vinyl discs made Molly get excited.

The synthesizer intro to "Baba O'Riley" by The Who began to play over the speakers. Molly paused, then went over to where The Who records would be. Glancing over them, a particular memory came up.

_"Whatcha doin, uncle Jack?" a 7-year-old Molly asked her uncle, who was underneath a car at the time._

_ He rolled out from underneath the car, sat up, and looked at her. "Hey Molly girl! I thought you were still sleeping!"_

_ "I just woke up. Whatcha doin out here?"_

_ "Well, I'm fixing a part of your Aunt Sarah's car. It's been making some weird noises lately, so she asked me to come out here and fix it for her."_

_ Molly went and stood next to him. "Have you fixed it yet?"_

_ Jack laughed. "Well, I actually just finished tweaking it before you came out here. So, in a sense, I guess so." He wiped his face with a rag that was lying on the ground, and then looked at Molly again. "Hey, I got a question for you."_

_ Her eyes lit up. Whenever her uncle Jack said something like that, she knew that it would be fun. "What, uncle Jack?"_

_ "Would you like to watch a concert with me? I just bought it a few days ago, and I don't have anyone who would want to watch it with me."_

_ Molly flashed a toothy grin. "Sure, uncle Jack! I'd love to!"_

_ "Okay then, come down to the den with me. I don't think Aunt Sarah would want us to make noise upstairs." He took her small hand in his and led her down the stairs._

_ She sat down on her uncle's lap after he had put the tape in the VCR. "What are we going to watch, uncle Jack?"_

_ "Molly girl, have you ever heard of Woodstock?"_

_ "You mean the little yellow bird that always follows Snoopy around?"_

_ Jack laughed again. "Well, that's a Woodstock, too. I'm talking about a different Woodstock. This one was a concert that happened over 3 days, to promote peace and love. My favorite band was one of the bands that was there."_

_ "Uncle Jack, isn't your favorite band The Who?"_

_ Jack nodded. "That's right! How did you know that?"_

_ "Well, you've told me before. Plus, you've got all of their records, and pictures of them all around your office."_

_ "You are a sharp one, Molly girl. Now, you still wanna watch this with me?"_

_ Molly nodded eagerly, sending her strawberry blonde ringlets flying everywhere. "Yes! I do!"_

_ "Okay. Sit back, relax, and enjoy 3 days that rocked the world." He pushed the play button. The tape was conveniently fast forwarded to The Who's setlist. That was the day that Molly developed her passion for The Who. Every Christmas and birthday after that, her uncle Jack got her something that went with The Who, be it a shirt, one of their CDs, or one of their videoss._

Molly was brought out of her reverie by the feeling of her sister's phone vibrating in her jean pocket. The music overhead was too loud for her to hear it exactly, but it sounded like someone was screaming at her. She nervously glanced around to see if anyone was looking at her, then answered the phone.

"Hello, Miranda's phone."

"Hey honey!" It was Miranda. "How goes the exploring?"

"How'd you know I was out exploring?"

"I've known you all your life. You were bound to go exploring. Oh, I hear you're at the retro shop."

"How could you tell that, too? Are you psychic or something?"

"Ha, no, Baba O'Riley gave it away. Hey, could you do me a humongo favor?"

"What?" Molly started chewing on one of her nails.

"Okay, over in the shirt rack, there's a couple black shirts with Jimi Hendrix on them, burning his guitar. Could you pick one of those up for me? You can get one for yourself, too, if you want, I don't care."

"Are you gonna reimburse me for it?"

"Of course I will! I was in there a few days ago, and saw that, but didn't have any money on me. If you get it for me, I will gladly pay you back for it."

"…all right, I'll get it for you. But you owe me one."

"I'll pick up a venti vanilla bean frappucino for you on the way home, how's that?"

"You sure know the way to my heart."

"Yep. Hey, listen, I gotta go, okay? Don't get into any trouble, you hear me?"

"Oh, I won't. I promise."

"Okay sis, love ya!"

"Bye." Molly hung up the phone and made a beeline for the shirts. She only had to go through a few before finding the shirt that Miranda had been talking about. She picked out two of them; one for her, and one for her sister. She also picked out for herself a couple other shirts and the vinyl copy of "Quadrophenia", her uncle's favorite Who album. She figured he'd like that, since her aunt had sold his copy that he'd had since he was 13 in a garage sale a few years back. If you were to even mention the word "Quadrophenia" to him now, a sad, forlorn look would come over his face, and Aunt Sarah would quickly retreat to the other room.

"Total comes to £44.36." the lady behind the counter said in a monotone voice. She looked like she absolutely hated her job, and that she was being forced to do it. Molly handed her a £50 and smiled, hoping to brighten her day up a bit.

The lady only glared and went on getting the changed. Molly readjusted her beret. "Thanks and have a good day," she said as she handed Molly her change.

"Umm, thanks. You too." She grabbed the bag of the shirts and the record and bolted out of the store. As soon as she started turned to go around the corner to find a coffee shop, she collided with something. Hard. She fell backwards onto the ground, hitting her head on the pavement.

* * *

"You've got a phone call….you've got a phone call…you've got a phone-ANSWER IT!" Molly woke up with a shock. Miranda's cell phone was screaming at her. Apparently, Miranda had downloaded one of Frank Calliendo's ringtones off of his website and put it on her phone. So, instead of a nice, melodious ringtone, she got stuck with a faux Al Pacino yelling at her to pick up the phone.

Molly put a pillow over her head to drown out the sound. It didn't help much. After a few more "rings", Al Pacino stopped talking to her. She threw the pillow down near the end of the bed, got up, and went over to see if whoever called left a message.

It took her about 5 seconds to realize that she had no idea where she was.

Her eyes shifted from one side to another. She slowly made a complete 360, in case she was mistaken. Nope, definitely not. This room was somewhere that she had never been before. She collapsed back down on the bed, putting her hands behind her neck, trying to slow down her breathing.

'Okay, Molly, calm down. Now, think back. You woke up, walked down to the city, went in that one shop, got some stuff, walked out…where did you go after that? Come on, think…black…boots? What is that? I don't have black boots. God, I feel like I have a hangover or something. Gotta stop eating that baby food...' She rubbed the back of her head where a small bump was forming.

"Great. I'm in a strange room, I have a bump on my head, and I have no idea how I got here. Fabulous." She stood up and started pacing. "Okay, okay, don't panic. This is definitely a situation that you haven't been in before. All you have to do is find a way out. Like a window." She paused, looking around her. "Oh, that's hilarious. No windows. Okay then…a door would be my next bet. Why look, there's a door." She grabbed Miranda's phone off of the desk table and headed over to it.

"All right. Here's the door. Now, you have no idea what's behind it. For all you know, you could be opening a door to another dimension, but don't panic. Just be calm and open the stupid d-OWW!" The door slammed into her forehead, causing her to fall back and hit the wall.

"Dear God! Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Molly said as she rubbed her forehead. "I mean, honestly, it's not like I wasn't standing there for…for…" The words were sucked out of her as she looked up. Staring back at her with an expression that resembled surprise, stood someone she knew she had seen before, but couldn't place. He was dressed in a plum colored suit, black boots, and an unnecessarily tall top hat. She wished she would have known who did his hair when she was 12, and went as a flapper for Halloween, because he had his hair in a bob that any flapper would be envious of. He was also wearing purple latex gloves.

"Good morning, Starshine! Earth says hello!" He said, then giggled nervously.

"…._what?"_

"I was wondering if you were still alive." He closed the door behind him. "You were pretty out of it the last time I saw you. Why were you standing behind the door? That's a pretty silly thing to do if you ask me. I know vertigo is fun and all, but-"

"HEY! HOLD IT!" Molly yelled out as she got back up to her feet and backed away from the door. "Don't move! Don't you come any closer!"

"Well allrighty then, heh…I won't move." He put his hands up, which were covered by purple latex gloves.

"Where the hell am I? And who the hell are you? And how the hell did I get here?" Molly asked.

"Well, let's see…" He looked up at the ceiling like he was in deep thought. He suddenly jumped a bit. "Oh yes! I remember now! I was just taking a casual stroll, since it was so wonderful outside, and then POW! I get hit by something. So, I look down, and it's this girl. She's just…laying there. I poke her a couple times, but she doesn't move. So, I pick her up – carefully, mind you, since she looked like she could snap out of it and bite me at any moment – put her in my Great Glass Elevator, take off, and come back here." He looked at her like it was the first time he'd seen her. "Hey! That was you, wasn't it? Wow, how my mind tends to wander!"

Molly stared at the person in front of her. She knew that she had seen him somewhere before, and that Glass Elevator…oh whatever. This guy was loony. "Okay…wow. That was…informative. But you still didn't answer one of my questions."

He looked surprised. "I didn't?"

Molly shook her head no.

He started counting things on his gloved fingers, mouthing them to himself as he did so. "Are you sure?"

Molly shook her head. "I asked you who you were."

"Oh yes! That's right. Wait…I believe your exact wording was, 'who the hell are you?', am I right?"

Molly closed her eyes, then reopened them. Nope, still there. She wasn't dreaming. "Well, yeah, but does that matter?"

His eyes got wide. "Well, of course it matters! When you're talking to someone, it's always polite to say exactly what you mean, and what you said adds a certain…_je ne sais quoi _to it. So, when you're talking, you should say exactly what you mean, and not hold anything back."

"Yeah, that's great to know. Hey, would you mind telling me WHO THE HELL YOU ARE?"

"No need to shout, dear. I can hear just fine." He suddenly resumed a more professional posture, though he had a little bit of a playful smirk on his face. "Hello there. I'm Willy Wonka. Pleasure to meet you." He tipped his hat down slightly.

Molly burst out laughing. "What?" he asked, a tad annoyed. She kept on laughing. "WHAT?"

"You expect me to believe that? You honestly expect me to believe that?"

"Well, who else could wear this and make it look good?" He said in a very sly tone.

"You know, I think I saw Jimi Hendrix wear something like that once." Molly giggled. "Of course, he didn't have the hat and the boots. Or the bob."

"…so what if he wore something like this? Mine's still original. Besides, he's not here to defend himself, now is he?"

"Well of course not. The man's been dead for over 30 years. Of course he's not here to defend himself."

"A true loss, that was…" his eyes seemed to go a little far off. Molly glanced nervously around, waiting for him to snap out of it. A minute passed. He didn't move.

"Umm…" Molly inched a little closer to him and waved her hand in front of his face. "Hello? Anyone there? Yoo hoo!"

He blinked a few times and giggled a bit. "Heh heh…sorry, was having a bit of a flashback."

"Do those happen often?"

"Off and on."

"Hmm…well, okay, now that that's done, you can quit joking with me and tell me who you are."

His eyes got a bit wide with amazement. "You still don't believe me?"

"No. Definitely not."

"Why not? Why don't you believe me?"

"Because, Willy Wonka doesn't ever come out of his factory. It's a known fact, everyone knows that. You couldn't be him because you were out taking a stroll, and, since he doesn't come out, it couldn't be you! It just couldn't be, so stop with this shit and tell me who you a-" Something clicked in Molly's mind. She stopped to think about the memory that had just popped into her brain.

About 2 years ago, she had been sitting up in her room, flipping through the channels, and she stopped on the BBC for a bit. They were showing the launch of the rocket that was going to hook up to the Space Hotel that had been sent up a few months earlier. After it had exited the atmosphere and gone into space, she flipped it over to Cartoon Network. A few minutes went by. She was enthralled in an episode of Teen Titans that she hadn't seen before when it was interrupted by a special news bulletin. Changing the channels, she found it was the same on every station. So, not wanting to be left out of anything, she watched what was going on. There was some kind of enemy spacecraft that was getting closer and closer to the Space Hotel, and everyone was freaking out about it. All that Molly could think about was why in the world would someone have 1) a bed in their spacecraft, and 2) be wearing a purple suit while in it. The coverage continued, which included some astronauts being eaten by strange brown worms and being brought back to earth by the people in the enemy spacecraft, which turned out to be completely the opposite. After it was over, Cartoon Network went back to normal, and she really didn't think anything of it.

A few days later, she was flipping through the channels, and came across the BBC again, and who was on it but the people who were in the supposed enemy spacecraft. Four elderly people, a young boy, his parents, and the man in the purple suit were all standing beside the United States president, shaking hands, receiving medals, and getting their picture taken. She stayed on the channel a bit more, and found out that the man in the purple suit was Willy Wonka. 'Cool,' she thought to herself as she changed the channel, 'so that's what he looks like.'

Molly stood frozen, eyes wide. She just realized that the lunatic standing in front of her was the very same person she saw shaking hands with the president that day. "Oh my God….you're Willy Wonka!"

"Oh, so now you believe me. You're really weird, did you know that?"

"Holy shit, I've never met a celebrity before!" Molly said excitedly. She started to talk very fast with equally fast hand motions. "Well, I take that back, I did sorta meet Bowling For Soup once, but I didn't really get to talk to them or anything, and they seemed kind of pissed off, anyways…but, wow! This is just…wow, so cool! Miranda will be so jealous when I tell her about this! Hold up…" She stopped and looked around her. "Where am I, exactly? Am I in the factory?"

He looked at her like she was crazy. "Well, yeah. Where else would I put you?"

It was a very good thing that there was a bed behind her, because Molly, light headed with excitement, got a little too light headed and passed out again. The last thing she remembered saying before everything went dark was "Holy shit…"

**A/N: Okay, this chapter is done! WHOO! ^_^ So, how was it? Did I get Willy right? Tell me. Be honest, brutal, if you have to. I want to get it right. The next one might take a while, since I've started school and all, but I'll try and get it up ASAP. Please please PLEASE R+R!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Well look, all, I'm back! We've had a few days off of school here lately, so I took the time to sit down and write a bit! As of right now, I should be studying for my Bio test, but guess what? I'm not! Ha ha! **

…**Yeah, okay, thank you to all those who have reviewed so far, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 3  
**

"GET BACK HERE!" Molly screamed as she ran down one of the many hallways she had gone through. For the past few minutes, she had been chasing something, trying to get back her black beret.

This will be one of the few times that I'll slip out of being a narrator. I say "something" because when Molly woke up after she had passed out the second time, her vision wasn't back all the way, and what she saw in her room definitely couldn't have been a someone. For, when she opened her eyes, she saw two very, _very_ small…somethings in her room, going through her bag in the corner, and making very strange sounds to each other. One of them had a hold of her beret and, when it saw that she was awake, screeched and bolted out the door. Molly took off after it, since her beret was from France, was given to her by her Aunt Sarah, and was her favorite accessory.

The twists and turns of the hallways seemed endless as she ran after whatever-it-was. She was getting very tired, but it was only because she hadn't used those muscles for a while. She used to run track in school. She was actually quite good. But, that was before the summer. Before it all happened. Before…

She shook her head. 'Beret…focus on the beret…' She forced herself to speed up, her legs burning even more, her heart pounding. The little whatever-it-was was still running ahead of her, squeaking rather loudly. All she knew was that whatever-it-was had some tiny legs, but it could run pretty fast.

Chasing after the something led her into a very large and colorful room, filled with grass, flowers, trees, and a small, twisting path down the center of it. The something bolted off into the grass, disappearing behind the tall blades. Molly didn't want to risk stepping of the poor whatever-it-was in the grass, because that would just be mean, cruel, and uncalled for. So, instead, she stopped to catch her breath, leaning over with her hands on her knees.

When she had finally managed to slow her breathing down, she stood up and looked around her a bit. Everything was a very vibrant, bold color; from the reds to the blues to the greens to even the browns, which was a bit strange. There were bushes, trees, rocks, and flowers as far as the eye could see, and the sound of a rushing river could be heard everywhere. It was, in her mind, like she was dreaming.

"I feel like I'm on acid or something…" she said as she started walking down the path. She came to the edge of a hill, overlooking the river. When she looked down at the river, she didn't find what she expected to find, which was water. Instead, it was something else. Something completely different.

"No…way…" she said as she crept down to the bank of the river, wondering if her eyes were really playing tricks on her. "That can't really be…there's no way…is that…_chocolate_?" She lay down on her stomach, eye level with the ground. It looked like chocolate. Inhaling, she found it smelled like chocolate.

"I _must_ be on acid…this is insane!" she laughed to herself. Looking each way, she stared back at the chocolate river. "Well, there's really only one way to find out if this is chocolate or not…"

What happened next almost seemed to go in slow motion. Molly had the pointer finger of her right hand out, pointing down, lowering into the river. Mere centimeters before her finger would have touched the river, it was stopped by a black cane with a gold tip.

"Eep!" Molly shrieked in surprise and flipped onto her back, eyes wide.

"Sorry, my dear, but my chocolate must not be touched by human hands!" Willy Wonka said, eyes hidden by crazy fly-eyes sunglasses. They reminded Molly of the glasses Bono wore on U2's Zoo TV tour when he was The Fly. "You would contaminate it with all these germs and nasty things." He poked her shoulder with his cane. "And then where would we be?"

"Umm…sorry?" Molly said as she stood up, brushing off her jeans as she did so. "I didn't know?"

He smiled a bit. "Well, now you know. So, tell me…umm…" he squeaked his rubber glove a bit. "Umm…"

"…Molly?"

"Heh…sure," he said, seeming disinterested, "how did you get in here?" He asked with a bit of a quiver behind his voice. He seemed rather nervous about something.

"Well, I wake up in the room again, and there's these two really, really small people in there. I mean, really, really small, like not even a foot tall small! It was insane! Anyways, they were poking around in my stuff. One of them had a hold of my beret, which is one of my most prized possessions. I was just about to tell it _nicely _to give it back when it bolted out of the door! Just like that! So, I got out of bed and ran after it. When chasing it, I wound up in here and it went in the grass. I didn't want to step on it or anything, so I just stayed out here. That's when I noticed the chocolate river. Hey," she paused for a moment, breathless, "am I on acid?"

Rubber squeaked again. "Umm…I don't know, are you?"

Molly shrugged. "I was wondering if you knew. All these colors everywhere…it reminds me of what you see when you look into a kaleidoscope."

"Well, you could be, but it wouldn't have occurred here. Unless you had some with you and took it before I came in the room." He smirked a bit, looked over the river, and then turned back to her quickly, like an idea. "Hey, do you want your hat back?"

"It's a beret, not a hat, and yes, I would like it back. Please." She added quickly.

"Sorry." He said as he blew into a golden whistle that randomly appeared out of nowhere. "There we go. We'll find it now."

About a minute of awkward silence occurred between them. Molly really thought he had lost it, and was just about to ask what purpose the whistle served when she heard what sounded like a small stampede of little feet coming their way. Looking all around her, she couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

"Ahem." Willy cleared his throat, then pointed down. "Look down."

Molly slowly cast her gaze downward. Hundreds, if not thousands, of the little "somethings" she saw raiding her room earlier were swarming around her feet, headed towards Willy's feet. He bent down as close to their level as he could get (being as they really weren't even a foot tall).

"Okay, is everyone here?" he said to one of the small creatures, which nodded back in response. "All right. See this person over here?" He pointed over to Molly, and thousands of pairs of eyes followed his purple-gloved finger. "She's missing a hat."

"Beret." Molly said softly, not meaning for him to hear it.

"Beret, sorry." He apparently did. "She says that one of you took it. Now, I don't care if you did or not. For all I care, you can keep it." Molly's eyes got big at this, which he took notice of also. "But, since she seems to care about it so much, I will need to have it back. So, I'm going to stick my hand out," which he did, "close my eyes and wait for whoever took it to give it back, okay?"

The small people nodded.

"Okay." He closed his eyes and looked in the opposite direction. All the small people started looking at each other, making clicking noises. After about 20 seconds of this, one of them started walking up towards Willy's hand. It looked like the parting of the Red Sea as it walked up, placing Molly's black beret in his hand. It skulked back into the crowd, which went back into crowd-like formation, so it would no longer be singled out.

"Aha! There it is!" Willy said as he opened his eyes and looked in his hand. "The beret has returned! Thank you all, you may all go back to work." He said. They all turned around and scurried off to their respective places.

"Here you go." He said as he handed Molly the beret. "Feel better now?"

Molly shook her head yes. "Very much so, thank you!" She put the beret on her head, adjusting it a bit so it went off to the side, and sighed. "Wonderful. Now, umm…can you tell me what just happened here?"

"Hmm?" Willy snapped out of what Molly assumed to be another flashback, but she couldn't tell with him still wearing those crazy glasses of his. "Oh, right…well, you're ha-beret, sorry, was stolen, so I called all my Oompa-Loompas in here-"

Molly started to giggle.

"Boy, you giggle a lot, you know that? What is so funny now?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong," she started, putting some of her hair behind her shoulder, "But did you just say _'_Oompa_-Loompa'_?"

Willy took off his fly goggles and put them in his coat pocket. "Yes, I did. Haven't you ever heard of and Oompa-Loompa before?"

She shook her head no. "I don't think so, no. Sounds like an energy drink to me."

He looked shocked. "Oh, no, no, that's not what they are at all! They are creatures from that terrible country Loompaland! Surely you've heard of that place?"

She shook her head again. He looked completely taken aback. "Sorry," she said, "but I've never heard of it."

"Boy, is that a story to tell!" He clapped his hands together in excitement. "But not now." His face went back to being serious.

…Well, as serious as Willy Wonka can get. "Why are you still here?"

Molly's eyes got big again. "What?"

His eyes squinted at her. "Why are you still here?"

"Umm…I…I…don't know?" Molly really didn't know how to respond.

"Are you here to steal my recipies?"

"No! No, of course not! I'd never do that!" She was shocked that he would accuse her of something like that. She'd never stolen anything in her life, except for a few pieces of candy from the bulk candy bins at the supermarket, but that didn't count, right?

He stepped a few steps closer to her, eyes still squinted. "Why else would you be here?"

'That's it!' She thought to herself. 'He's snapped! He's loony! This is crazy!'

"What the hell…you brought me in here! You're the whole reason I'm here! I'm here because you plowed into me!" She plopped down on the ground.

He thought about this for a moment. "Oh yeah…that's right. Umm…yeah, so, you're not going to steal anything, are you?"

"No, I'm not. I am not going to steal anything."

"…Huh. All right. Try the grass, it's actually quite nice." He had apparently noticed Molly running one of her hands over the soft, bright green grass.

"Huh?" She looked confused.

"Try the grass. It's good."

She looked at the grass, then looked back at him. "You mean…eat it?"

Willy nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Eat it! See?" He bent down, picked a blade for himself, and put it in his mouth. "See? Perfectly eatable!"

She looked back down at the grass. 'Well, one couldn't hurt…' She picked a blade of grass and set it on her tongue. Instead of the flavor of grass that she was used to (she used to eat grass when she was younger and had nothing better to do), she got a blast of sugar with just a small hint of mint. It reminded her of the rose mints her grandmother used to make on special occasions.

"Wow…that's actually really good!" He smiled when she said that. "What's it made of?"

"Sugar with a bit of mint. I call it 'swudge'." Go ahead, have some more if you want!"

She stood up and looked all around her. "So…since the grass is edible, does that mean…" she pointed around the room in a circle.

He nodded. "Yep. You can eat everything in here."

"Sweet!" Molly squealed as she took off down the path, towards a bush with what looked like little teacups resting on little plates on it. She carefully picked a yellow teacup and dish off of the bush, held them at eye level, and inspected it carefully. She couldn't quite figure out what it was made of, something hard and glossy, almost like wax. She bit off an edge of the teacup, shocked to find that it was softer than it felt. Tasted pretty good, too, a bit of a lemony-sugary taste.

'This is too good to be true…' she thought to herself as she took a sip of the lemonade-tasting liquid that was inside the teacup. 'Way too good to be true…'

"Umm…hey," her leg was tapped with Willy's cane, "Hey, you in there?"

Molly shook her head to snap herself out of it. "Whoa, what?"

"Umm...your phone appears to be…umm…yelling at you?"

She pulled it out of her pocket and was greeted with the voice of Al Pacino shouting at her again. "Oh. Heh. Thank you." She flipped up the top of the phone. "Hello?"

Immediately after she said hello she had to hold the phone away from her ear. She could tell it was Miranda calling her, probably wondering where the hell she had been for the past…the past…well, the past however long she had been at the factory for.

"Mira, Mira, calm down! Settle! Calm down!"

Miranda was breathing heavily on the other line. "We had the police out looking for you and everything…honey, where have you been? Were you kidnapped? Do they want ransom money? Where are you?"

"Calm down! I wasn't kidnapped, and there's no ransom money. And if I told you where I've been, you wouldn't believe me anyways. So there's no point in that."

"I've just tried to call you so many times and no one has picked up…God, honey, you don't know what you're doing to me here!"

Molly glanced over at Willy, who had occupied himself by checking out the same bush that she had gotten the teacup from and picking out dead branches. "I know, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'll get back as soon as I can, I swear. Don't freak out, I'll be there soon."

"Okay, honey, get back here as soon as you can." Miranda sounded a little less frantic. "Just, please, don't ever do that again!"

"I promise. I'll be there soon. See you." She flipped the top of the phone down again, hanging up the call. She paused for a moment, trying to come up with the answer of how long she had been gone. "Hey, how long have I been here for?"

"Hmm?" Willy looked up from the branches. "Oh, well…lesse…I'd say almost a full day now, with all your fainting and everything."

Her eyes got wide. "A day? I've been here for A FULL DAY?"

He nodded. "Yep."

"Holy crap. No wonder Miranda's freaking out. Sorry to cut this short and everything, but I need to get back home. Right away."

"Kay. I'll show you to the door. Just follow me." He turned on his heels and walked along one of the long paths out of the room, Molly close behind him. After many twists, turns, and impossibly small doors, they emerged out of the factory and walked towards the gates.

Pausing before the button to open the gates, he looked straight at her. "This is where I leave you. Can you get home from here?"

Molly nodded. "Yep. I can get home."

"Well, it was nice meeting you…umm…heh, umm…"

"…Molly?" She said slowly.

"Molly, yes, yes, Molly. Nice meeting you. Hope you had fun, now off you go!" He pushed the button for the gates, and they slowly opened. When they were completely opened, she stepped out onto the sidewalk and he pushed the button again, causing them to close. With a small tip of the hat, he turned on his heels and walked up his red carpet to the doors of the factory again.

"Nice meeting you too." She said more to herself than anyone, and proceeded to try and hail a cab from somewhere.

**A/N: Good God that took me forever to write. Sorry about the delay all. They have met now. Good thing or bad thing? Only time will tell. Haha, well, yeah, so this chapter is done. Next one will be up as soon as I can do it, and I apologize for the delay, I really do! This story won't die!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! I've wasted away my Christmas vacation without writing! I've been working on my "Uber-Long Books to Read" list and my "Uber-Long Movies to See" list over the past two weeks…that and I've had a bit of a writer's block…heh. But! I figured out where this chapter is going to go! And, hopefully, where the rest of the story will go…well, just hang on tight, and let's just let it ride!**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Sorry it took so long!**

**Chapter 4  
**

"Oh, look at you!" Miranda squealed. "You look so adorable in your uniform!"

Molly looked at herself in Miranda's tall bedroom mirror. The school that her wonderful sister was sending her to required a uniform of brown dress shoes, knee-length white socks, and a plaid skirt, beautifully topped off with a white button down blouse and an itchy wool navy blue jacket with the school's crest on it. She looked like she had walked out of Night Rider's "Sister Christian" video from the 80s. Either that or Hogwarts.

"God, I look like a prep. And this jacket is so itchy!" She went in a scratching spasm, scratching all over where the jacket was. Miranda started laughing, then got up from her chair and held Molly's arms back.

"Quit that! People will think you're mad! Now, let me finish with your hair here…" She quickly braided the sides and threw those braids back in a ponytail. "There! Beautiful! Now, I need to go fix you some breakfast! Don't want you to go hungry on your first day, now do we?"

Molly shook her head, eyes never leaving the mirror.

"Exactly! We'll be leaving here soon, so don't take much longer in here, kay?"

Molly nodded as Miranda patted her on the shoulder and went out the door, leaving Molly to look at herself in the mirror some more.

'My God, she must be out of her mind…' She thought to herself as she scratched her right arm a bit and walked out of the room to the kitchen. 'Out of her freaking mind…'

* * *

Molly walked into the large library of her new school, found a chair, put her bag in the chair next to it, and collapsed, putting her head down on the desk. Her first day at Brighton really didn't go very well. Teachers yelled, lockers became stuck, hallways became endless passageways to other worlds. Letting out an annoyed moan, she leaned over, searched around in her bag for a bit, pulled out a book, and settled into the chair, trying to take her mind off of everything.

A few minutes later, she heard someone sit in a chair a few chairs down from her. She didn't take her eyes off of the page she was reading, but out of her peripheral vision she saw that the person was looking over in her direction. Sinking down in her chair even farther, she hid her face behind the book.

"Sideways, huh?" the person said from across the table. The voice told her it was a girl. "I really enjoyed the movie. How is the book?"

"It's good," Molly anxiously replied, "it's really good. This is my third time reading it."

"You know, that movie really made me want to be of legal drinking age. I really wanted to just go out, tour all the local wineries, and try all the wines that I could! I was on a huge kick from it for a while…all I could think about was that movie! It has to be one of my all-time favorites. Have you seen the movie?"

Molly peered over the top of the book. "Yes, yes I have. Many times. It's one of my all-time favorites, too."

The girl's eyes lit up. Molly saw that they were outlined in some sort of sparkly, golden liner, which made both her mahogany hair and her bright, almost yellow-green eyes stand out. "Really? That's fantastic! What is your favorite part?"

"The scene where Miles gets ticked off and runs after the guys in the golf carts. You?"

"Oh, that's a great one! Mine would have to be when Jack sends Miles in to get his wallet at the lady's house, and Miles is crawling around on the floor in the bedroom where the lady and her husband are screwing!" At this, the girl clasped her hands together, showing her black painted nails. "Goodness, I love that movie!"

Molly put a bookmark in her book and put it down on the table. "What are some of your other favorites?"

"Well...Annie Hall would be one of them…Love Story would be another…hmm…Office Space is a great American film that not many people over here have even heard of. Have you heard of it?"

'I like this girl.' Molly thought to herself. "I adore all three of those movies! Office Space is one of the greatest movies that have ever been made! It amazes me how few people actually know about it, really."

The girl squinted her eyes. "Hey, I don't think I've ever seen you around here before. Are you new?"

Molly nodded.

"Oh, a newbie? Well, that's okay. I wish I would have known that! I bet you had a rough day today, didn't you?"

She nodded again. "I really did. It was awful."

"Tell you what. Tomorrow, I'll show you around the place, introduce you to a few people, get you used to everything…how's that sound?"

Molly smiled. "That sounds…that sounds wonderful! Thank you so much!"

The girl looked at her watch, then looked back at Molly with apologetic eyes. "I'm so sorry, but I have to cut this short. It was wonderful talking to you…"

"Molly. Molly Relson."

"Molly Relson. I'm Angelina Cross. It was fantastic meeting you!" Angelina smiled, grabbed her books, and ran out the door.

'Wow…I hope she's as nice as she makes herself out to be…' Molly thought to herself as she resumed reading her book.

* * *

"All right all, this is Molly." Angelina put her arm around Molly's shoulder as they were sitting outside of the school, on the opposite side of a group of three rather nice looking boys and a girl with choppy blonde hair and an abundance of black eyeliner. "Now, you all had better be nice to this one. She's new here, so she doesn't know her way around very well, got it?" She turned to Molly. "Okay, now for introductions. Molly," she looked over at the crowd of people across from them, and began pointing to them individually. "This is Jess,"

"Hey." Jess said with a smile. He had a mass of curly, reddish – brown hair on his head, puppy-dog eyes, and an extremely nice smile. He was only a few inches taller than she was, and seemed like he'd be one of the nicest people on Earth. Molly immediately liked him.

"Stephen," Stephen waved at her, running his other hand through his long, jet black hair as he did so. He was rather pale, but not sickly looking. Molly couldn't imagine him being tan at all.

"Eric," Eric raised his eyebrows at her, but said nothing. He reminded Molly of Paul McCartney from the early 60s, with his dark brown bowl cut and his baby face. He was at least a few inches taller than the rest, and looked like he could beat you up if he wanted to.

"And, last but not least, Gwen, the queen of black eyeliner." Gwen made a face at Angelina, then walked over to Molly and stuck out her hand.

"It's very nice to meet you, Molly." She said with a far deeper and louder voice than Molly ever expected to come out of such a petite girl. "If you ever need me for anything, even if it's to get Angelina off your back, I'll be here, okay?"

Molly took her hand and shook it. "Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much."

"No problem. And, as for you and your comment," Gwen looked over at Angelina and glared a bit, "I was in a bit of a hurry this morning, so I went a little eyeliner crazy. You know me and makeup when I'm in a hurry! I end up looking like a harlot, for Christ's sake!"

"Well, darling, then why didn't you just wait till you got here and let me do it, hmm?" Angelina asked with a matter-of-fact tone to her voice.

"Because I don't trust you with any sort of sharp object at all, let alone an eyeliner pencil that's close to my eye." Gwen turned around and started walking towards the school, the guys following close behind her.

"Oh, you little…Come here!" Angelina ran after her and jumped on Gwen's back. Gwen squealed and ran up the stairs with her on her back. The guys just laughed, the followed the girls into the school.

Molly took a deep breath and looked after them. It had become increasingly difficult for her to make friends over the years, especially after Miranda moved out and everything took a turn for the worse. The few friends she had in secondary school hadn't even tried to contact her during the summer. 'Some friends,' she thought, adjusting her backpack. 'These people will be different. They have to be.'

"Hey, Molly!" Molly snapped herself out of her thoughts and looked up. Jess was calling after her. "Are you coming, or are you going to stand there and play hookey all day?"

"I'm coming!" She yelled up as she ran up towards the stairs. Jess smiled at her when she caught up with him, and put his arm around her shoulders.

"I have a feeling you'll be a wonderful addition to our group, miss Molly." He said as he pushed open the doors. "And, even if you aren't, it will still be nice to have someone else to talk to besides them all the time." He turned and looked at her. "What's your first class?"

"Biology." Molly replied, trying very hard not to blush.

"Bio? Really? That's what I have, too! How's come I didn't see you yesterday?"

"You didn't know I existed yesterday."

"Hmm…well, I still should have seen you, even if you didn't really exist to me yet." He stopped walking and took his arm off her shoulders. "But, now you do, so I'll be sure to see you in class. Do you have to get your books?"

Molly nodded. "My locker's down the hall…somewhere…"

Jess sighed. "Poor newbie. Here, I have an idea. I'll be your guide. What number is your locker?"

"Umm…" Quickly, she rummaged around in the pockets of her bag until she found the small slip of paper with her locker number on it. "A027."

"A027? Goodness, you're down there pretty far. What's your last name?"

"Relson."

He looked confused. "Relson? An R last name stuck with locker A027…how the hell did that happen?"

"Late registration, I guess." She stuck the paper back in her bag. "My sister stuck me in this school very last minute. I honestly don't know how she can afford this, but, apparently, she can."

"Hmm…well, we should probably be getting to class. Come on," he grabbed her by the wrist, "let's go down to the A hall, get your books, head to the Bio room, and get this day overwith, shall we?" He flashed her a smile.

She smiled back. "Okay, guide, lead me to the A hall, and let's get this day overwith."

"I like your attitude." He said as he lead her to her locker. "You are definitely going to be a wonderful addition to our group."

* * *

"Oh my God, you all are NOT going to believe what I just heard!" Gwen slammed her books down on the library table and plopped herself down in one of the chairs, obviously excited about something.

Molly was sitting across from where Gwen plopped down, next to Angelina and Jess. It had been a few weeks since she started at Brighton, and each day seemed to become increasingly better. She was able to get to her classes on time, and to actually figure out how to get there. She had people to sit with at lunch, too, which was a plus. All in all, she was beginning to feel like she could really make it at this school.

"What, Gwen? What did you hear?" Angelina said with mock excitement. Molly heard Jess snort a bit.

Gwen didn't seem to notice. "Okay, so I was talking to Chelsea, who was talking to Harriet, who was talking to Kiki, who overheard it from Mark – does the name Charlie Bucket ring a bell with anyone?"

"…Hey, wasn't he the kid who won that rigged contest to get into the Wonka factory?" Stephen asked.

Gwen nodded so much it made her look like a bobble head. "Yes! That's exactly right! So, guess what I heard?"

"What?" Molly said, starting to catch on to how Gwen told her stories.

"Well, like I said, I was talking to Chelsea, who was talking to Harriet, who was talking to Kiki, who overheard it from Mark that he's GOING TO START GOING TO SCHOOL HERE IN A FEW DAYS!" She sighed, grinned, and sank back in her chair, looking accomplished.

"Gwen, honey…"Angelina started, "What does that exactly have to do with you? Or any of us?"

Gwen looked at everyone with astonishment. "Well don't…don't you all see it? Don't you all see the beauty this?"

"Umm…no." Jess said, then snorted again.

She shook her head. "I'm very disappointed in all of you. I thought you all would see it." She leaned in, her eyes squinting a bit. "You see, when dear Charlie comes here, he'll need to be shown around, right? So, what do we do? We show him around. We are nice. Eventually, we'll befriend him. We can get him to have a mini party over at his house. And, where is his house?" She went back into her slouching position, crossing her arms, an evil glint in her eye. "The Wonka factory."

"Holy crap, Gwen! You are awful!" Angelina threw a paper wad that she had just made at her. "You want to use the poor kid to get into the factory?"

"What? It's a good plan! It makes sense! Come on!"

"Girl, you've been smoking something. That really sucks." Stephen said as he stood up from the table, stretching out his long arms as he did. "Well, all, I gotta hit the road. Good day." He grabbed his books and walked out of the library.

"Bye, Stephen!" Angelina yelled as he disappeared. Molly noticed she smiled a bit to herself after she said it. She wasn't sure, since she had only known these people for a few weeks now, but she kind of got the feeling that Angelina liked Stephen. It was cute.

"Gwen…" Molly started, not sure where she was going to go with it. "Shouldn't we show him around because we're just nice people? Wouldn't we technically be using him if we went through with what you were talking about?"

Gwen nodded. "Yeah, we would be using him. But we'd get to see the factory! Come on people!"

Jess looked over at Angelina. "Hey, Angel, got any more of those paper wads?"

"Ta da." She produced one out of thin air, it seemed, and handed it to Jess, which he proceeded to chuck at Gwen.

"God, you people are insane." Gwen said as she stood up, grabbed her purse, and straightened out her hair. "Well, whatever. I'll just laugh when I get to go in the factory and you all don't, and you want to, and I won't let you. Ha ha." With that, she turned on her heels and walked out.

"You know, I thought she was over that whole fantasy a long time ago…" Eric said out of nowhere, his head resting on his folded arms.

"What fantasy?" Molly asked, a little confused. "I'm definitely missing something."

"Gwen's a little psychotic about things, especially about that factory." Angelina started.

"Psh, a little." Jess chimed in, then turned and looked straight at Molly. "You remember the whole golden ticket thing, right?"

Molly nodded. "Right."

"Well, when she heard about that, she freaked out. She absolutely freaked out. Screaming, jumping, flailing of arms, asthma attacks out the wazoo; you name it, she did it. How many times did she have to use her inhaler that day, you remember?"

"Hmm…7 times or so. Quite a bit." Angelina said.

"Holy shit."

Jess nodded. "Yeah, it was pretty intense. Anyways, Gwen's parents are divorced, and she lives with her mom, but goes over to visit her dad every weekend. Her dad is absolutely LOADED. So, every time she would go over there, she'd make him go to the local candy store and buy out all of the Wonka bars that they could find so she could open them up and see if there were any tickets in there. She never ate the chocolate, though. We all got the chocolate."

"I swear I gained about 10 pounds during that time, man. It wasn't fun." Eric said. "Football coach pretty much killed me for it."

"She never got a ticket, as you probably figured." Angelina chimed in. "And she was so depressed by it, she didn't come to school for about a week. She still gets a little misty eyed whenever anyone mentions those tickets."

Jess looked Molly straight in the eye. "It's great when you want to piss her off."

"Why would I want to piss her off?" Molly said, cocking her head a bit.

"Because. It's fun." Jess flashed her a gorgeous, white smile.

Angelina pushed out from the table, stood up, and stretched her amrs high into the air. "Well, all, it's about my time to take off. Molly girl, you need a ride?"

Molly checked her wristwatch. She was supposed to be home by 4. It was now 4:30. She was screwed. "Yes, that would be wonderful."

"All right. Let's go then." She grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair. "You two be good now, I don't want to hear about any trouble-making going on, mmkay?" She looked at both Jess and Eric.

"Yes ma'am." Jess said with a mock salute. "No trouble-making whatsoever."

"Good. I'll be watching you two. I know all."

"Thank you, Sting. I'll be sure watch every step I take, every move I make, every breath I take, and every vow I break, because I know you will be watching me."

Eric reached over and smacked Jess on the back of the head. "God, you're lame. I'm out of here." He grabbed his jacket and joined the two girls standing at the doorway. Molly still could not believe how tall he was, and how quiet he was. He gave each of them a small wave, and winked at Molly as he left. Molly felt her cheeks get pink. In the past few weeks, she had received more attention from guys than she had her whole life. And, really, it was a nice feeling.

Angelina dragged her by her sleeve towards the school parking lot, her mahogany hair flowing in tresses behind her, rambling on about something as she did. Even as they got to Angelina's golden Saab (which just further emphasized how rich the people who went to this school truly were), she didn't stop talking. Molly was getting used to this; this happened nearly every day. If Miranda would take her back to the train station, she would be able to get her parents' car that she stole back, if it was still sitting in the parking lot. But, Miranda kept forgetting, so she always had to hitch a ride with Angelina.

"…And, so, he took my hand and started scratching off my nail polish. My black nail polish. Can you believe it? He scratched it all off! And he found my bottle of it, you know, the one that I hid underneath my mattress," she turned on the car, shifted into drive, turned down the radio, and took off in the direction of Molly's house, "and he took it and threw it out! And he's forbidding me to buy anymore! Can you believe it? I mean, hello, I'm almost 18! I can move out soon! Daddy won't be able to control me anymore…"

Molly sighed. "At least you have a dad…" She said under her breath, staring out the window.

"Everyone has a dad, honey. They're men, though, so they're difficult, that's all. Shit!" The car lurched a bit to the left. "Sorry about that, hon, almost ran into a mailbox. Heh."

"It's fine! Makes the car ride more exciting." She looked back out the window as they came to a stop light. Just about 100 meters away, Molly could see the golden gates to Willy Wonka's factory. It had been about 3 months since that day that she spent in that magical place. She thought about her visit there quite a bit; possibly more than was good for her. It was just…it was a break from her reality. Which was nice, because her reality basically sucked. She just wondered…if Gwen went through with her plan…could that mean that they all could-

"Hey. Whatcha lookin at?" Angelina asked, poking Molly's shoulder lightly.

"Just the factory."

Angelina sighed. "You know, I have always wanted to go in there, too. I used to be good friends with Violet Beauregarde - we were competitive gum chewers together - and she said that it was really amazing on the inside. She said it was almost like a kaleidoscope, it was so bright. She really enjoyed herself there…except for the fact that Willy Wonka was a complete asshole." She pushed down on the gas pedal, and they drove past the factory.

He wasn't an asshole. At least, not to her. "Really? Did she do anything to make him mad?"

Angelina giggled a bit. "She didn't say anything, but probably. She was a bit of a brat, anyways. Nice girl, but a bit of a brat." She turned left onto Molly's street, and then pulled into her driveway. "There you are, dearie! Hope your sister doesn't cut you up and eat you for dinner because you're late!"

"Me too." Molly said as she got out of the car.

"Call me tonight! Love ya!" Angelina shouted as she backed out of the driveway and drove off. Molly waved in her direction, and then turned back to her house.

She walked up the few steps to the door, put her key in the door, unlocked it, and then opened it just a crack, only to be met with the sounds of heavy footsteps leading up to the door.

Yep. Her reality kind of sucked. Silently wishing that Willy Wonka would come and whisk her away in a chocolate chariot, she opened the door further. She was met with her sister's wide, angry eyes.

"Where the HELL were you?" She yelled as Molly entered the house, closing the door behind her. Molly leaned up against the door, trying to prevent Miranda's finger from poking out her eye.

"I was with Angelina…"

"Yeah, whatever," Miranda said, backing up. She then pointed down the hall. "Call me next time you stay out, all right? If I'm supposed to be watching you, I need to know where you are."

"At all times?"

"What, is that so wrong?"

"Umm…yeah. I'm 17. I should have a little freedom."

"I'm not saying you shouldn't have freedom," Miranda said, her voice growing a little louder, "But I just need to know where you are."

"You're acting like Dad!" Uh oh. Word vomit. Molly put her hands over her mouth. "Miranda, I – "

"Why you little…"

And the fighting commenced.

**A/N: Holy crap, that took too long to write. Boring, I know, I'm sorry. No Willy in this chapter! I'll try to get him in the next chapter, the next two chapters at the most. Charlie will be in the next one, though! YAY CHARLIE! I love Charlie…anywho, I'm on spring break this week, so I hope to get a lot of writing done during the day and at night. Please, please, PLEASE, R+R! Much appreciated!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello again! The next chapter…where will it go? SUSPENSE! O_O **

**Sorry, all I've had today is sugar, sugar, and MORE SUGAR. It's been pretty fun…**

**So, without further ado, here goes the chapter!**

…**Oh, and by the way, I don't own Willy Wonka or Charlie or anyone from the original books. I don't own them. I wish I did. Oh boy do I wish I did. But I don't. So they are not mine.**

**Glad that's cleared up. On with the story!**

**Chapter 5  
**

"Hey everyone." Molly said to her friends as she plopped down next to Angelina at the lunch table. She had had an extremely long night; filled with her sister and her fighting, Sherri getting upset and starting to cry, Jeff starting to yell at Miranda for yelling and making Sherri upset, and Molly joining in and yelling just to make everyone stop. She took Sherri from Jeff's arms and went into her room, locking the door as she did so. Miranda came up and pounded on the door for about 5 minutes, but then gave up. Or Jeff dragged her away. Whichever came first. When she was finally able to get Sherri calmed down, it was about 2 in the morning.

Needless to say, waking up at 7 was extremely hard, especially for someone who is definitely NOT a morning person.

"You look like hell." Gwen remarked.

"Thanks." Molly mock-smiled. "I had a rough night."

"Oh…did your sis chew you out?" Angelina inquired. Molly nodded. "Girl, I am so sorry about that…do you want me to talk to her or something? I mean, part of it was my fault and all…"

"No, it wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault." She paused. "Okay, well I could have called. But, whatever, you know? Miranda apparently forgot to take her meds yesterday…but it wasn't even really Miranda that pissed me off…it was the fact that everyone was screaming so much that it made Sherri get really upset. She was shaking for about 3 hours afterwards, and wouldn't stop crying until about 2."

"Poor thing. Is she okay?" Jess asked, a look of genuine concern in his eyes.

"Now she is, I guess. She's sleeping in her crib, lucky kid."

"Oh my God, are you not wearing _makeup?_" Gwen shrieked, oblivious to everything else that had just been said.

Stephen produced a random paper wad and threw it across the table, hitting Gwen's head. "Ow!" She exclaimed, rubbing her head. "Where the hell do you people get all this paper? It's unnatural and…random…but, seriously, are you or are you not wearing makeup?"

Molly just stared. "Umm…I went to bed at 2, got up at 7. I'm not a morning person. I got dressed, threw my hair back in a ponytail, put in my contacts-"

"Deodorant?" Jess threw in.

Angelina threw a paper wad at him.

"Yes, deodorant," at this, Jess mock wiped his forehead in relief, "put on my shoes, and went out the door. No shower, no breakfast, nothing. So, no, I'm not wearing makeup."

"I didn't mean it in a bad way, you know. You actually don't look half bad without makeup." Gwen smiled. She was being sincere.

"Thanks. Now, I need to get some food. I'm starving." Molly said as she got up from the table and went over to the line for pizza. As she got out her wallet, she glanced to the left and noticed a small boy sitting alone at one of the lunch tables. He looked lonely. Really lonely.

Molly sighed and went over to him. "Hey, mind if I sit here?"

He quickly glanced up, shock taking over his large brown eyes. "Umm…no, go ahead."

She smiled. "Thanks. I'm Molly. What's your name?"

"Charlie."

She was about to say something else when the previous day's conversation popped into her head. Charlie? Not _the _Charlie…

"Hmm…Charlie. That name sounds familiar."

"So does Molly. Charles is a popular name, you know."

'Ooo, nicely done Charlie.' "Very true, very true. What's your last name, Charlie?"

"Bucket. What's yours?"

Molly tried to stay calm on the outside, but her insides were jumping all around. "Relson. I'm going to go out on a limb here…you're not _the _Charlie Bucket, are you?

He rolled his eyes. "I love how people say that. _The _Charlie Bucket. Makes me sound so special. Well, if you want to know in those terms, yes, I am _the _Charlie Bucket. But, if you want to know in regular terms, my name's Charlie, and I'm new here." He seemed a bit pissed off about something.

"Umm…I'm sorry if I offended you or anything, I didn't mean anything by it."

He sighed. "No, no, you didn't offend me. I've just been getting that all day. I mean, when I graduated primary school, everyone knew me before…everything, so it didn't really matter. I knew it'd be a little different coming to a school where I didn't know anyone, especially after…everything, but I didn't think it'd be as bad as it is."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Charlie who is new here. I'm Molly Relson, and I just came here a few weeks ago, and, if you want, I might be able to spread the word for people to stop prodding into your personal life."

"Really?"

"I could try, at least." She smiled, glad that he didn't turn out to be a prick. "I just have to ask one question, though."

He looked a bit let down, but responded with "Okay, ask away."

"Is the President of the US really as loopy as he appears to be on TV?"

He laughed. Molly really liked his laugh; it was light and friendly. "Even moreso than what they show on TV. The press conference was only about a quarter of all the time we had to spend there, in front of those cameras and with that man. He's certifiably psychotic."

Molly laughed. "Thought so."

Charlie's eyes suddenly became large, slowly looking up above Molly's head. Molly didn't understand what he was looking at until she heard a voice from behind her.

"Umm…sorry to bother you, Molly, but Angel's pretty much freaking out right now because she doesn't know where you went. Hey, who's the kid?"

"Charlie, Eric, Eric, Charlie."

"Nice to meet you." Charlie said weakly.

"Don't worry, Charlie, he's harmless. He won't hurt you. I'll make sure of it." Molly turned around in her seat and stared up at Eric. "Really? She's freaking out, huh?"

Eric nodded. "It's actually kind of fun to watch."

"Well, tell her I'll talk to her after lunch, okay? This," she gestured between herself and Charlie, "is called human interaction. It's kind of important."

Eric rolled his eyes. "You know, if I had some paper right now, I'd throw it at you."

"When did that start, anyways?"

He shook his head. "Don't ask. I'll go tell her. Nice to meet you, Charlie." He smiled and waved as he left.

"Wow…he's tall." Charlie said in amazement, his eyes watching Eric's every move.

"Yeah, he is. He's absolutely harmless, though. Doesn't say much, either. I think that's the largest amount of words I've heard from him in a single day. Amazing. So, what classes are you taking here?"

"Umm…" he reached in his pants pocket and pulled out a folded up sheet of paper. "Lit, Bio, Algebra 1, History, and an art class. You?"

"Bio, Creative Writing, Algebra II, Government, and guitar lessons."

"They have guitar lessons here?"

Molly nodded. "Apparently so. My sister was the one who made out my schedule for me, and she knows that I adore the guitar, so she just signed me up for them."

"Have you had them yet today?" He seemed really intrigued by the fact that the school was giving out guitar lessons as a class. To be truthfull, Molly had been taken a bit aback when her sister told her that they offered guitar lessons there. She was afraid that the teacher would be really old and stuffy, making her stick strictly to a lesson book. But, her teacher turned out to be about 30 years old, with gorgeous long blonde hair, and bright blue eyes, and a wonderful smile. Oh, there was also the fact that when Molly walked in, she started playing the opening riff to "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix.

"Yep, I get them in the morning. The teacher is so incredibly nice, and she's amazing at the guitar."

"What kind of stuff are you learning? I don't know much about guitars, or guitar playing, but it's just really amazing that they offer guitar lessons at a school."

"Well, right now, she's trying to get me to work on my bending of the strings, and to get me to use my thumb more. I hate using my thumb for songs. It's awkward…but, she says that once you get used to it, it's no big deal." Molly sighed. "Whatever. It just means that I have to keep trimming my nails every week that we keep doing the bending, because, if I don't, the strings get caught under my nails." She looked down at her hand, noticing how long her nails were. "They grow too fast, I swear."

"How long have you been playing?"

"Well…my older sister started teaching me how to play when I was about 6. I just learned from her, and went on from there." She sighed. "I've never had any professional lessons. It's a really interesting experience."

The bell suddenly rang, and people all around them started to empty their lunch trays into the large waste baskets all around the cafeteria.

"Thank you for sitting and talking with me, Molly. It really meant a lot." Charlie smiled as he stood up and left.

"Nice talking to you too!" She said back before taking off after Angelina, ready to spill her guts.

_

* * *

Angelina, _Molly scribbled out, making sure that her teacher was not watching her at the time, _guess what happened to me at lunch today?_

_ You left me! I don't care what happened!_

_ No, but it's a really good thing. I swear._

_ Nope. I don't care._

_ *sigh* Okay, then I won't tell you about the famous person I met today…_

_ …Famous person? What? I'm confused!_

_ Oh, so now you want to know, do you?_

_ Just tell me._

_ Haha, okay, okay. So, I was in line to get some food, when I look over, and there's this kid sitting all by himself. He looked really lonely. So, I went over, sat by him, and talked to him a bit. And GUESS WHO HE TURNED OUT TO BE?_

_ …Umm…Bono?_

_ …Bono? Are you serious?_

_ Hey, it could happen! He could go through a time machine and come back as beautiful, pre-Boy era Bono…with the mullet…mmm, baby mullet Bono…_

_ O_o Oh dear God. I'm frightened now. It wasn't Bono, for your information. It just so happened to be CHARLIE BUCKET._

_ …WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? NUH UH!_

_ I am dead serious. It was Charlie Bucket. And, you know what? That kid is great! He's hillarious! And really nice, too! And he has the most gorgeous brown eyes I have ever seen…_

_ Oh hoh hoh, Molly's going for the younger boys now, is she? ROBBING THE CRADLE! PEDOPHILE!_

_ WTF? If I tell you that you have beautiful skin, does that make me a lesbian?_

_ …No._

_ Then there you go. I am NOT a pedophile. Thank you._

_ Just playing, just playing! Goodness hon. So…anywho…are you gonna keep talking to him?_

_ Umm…yeah, it would be kind of mean just to NOT talk to him now, wouldn't it?_

_ True, true. Just curious._

_ …Why are you curious?_

_ Because…I don' t know…maybe I could talk to him too…possibly…_

_ Of course you can. Why couldn't you?_

_ I don't know. I've got to do it when Gwen isn't around, though. She'd FLIP OUT._

_ Yeah. Sure you can talk to him! You have to convince him that Eric won't bite him, though…he seemed a little afraid of him._

_ Haha! Yeah, Eric is a scary guy. He'll rip you apart limb by limb. Grr._

_ Haha!_

_ …Do I really have beautiful skin?_

_ Okay, we're done now._

_ No, seriously! Do I really?_

_ *sigh* Yes, you do. Now, we gotta get back to Algebraland…the teacher's getting suspicious._

_ Hey, since Ariel was a mermaid, did she wear an algebra?_

After reading that, Molly crumpled up the note and threw it at Angelina, who knocked it away with her hand, looking back at the teacher as she did so. He kept on talking, face to the blackboard. They both breathed a sigh of relief, and looked over the people in front of them's shoulders to see what page they were on, so they could join the class in the wonderful world of Algebra II.

* * *

"Hey, can I sit with you again?" Molly asked with a smile. This had become a routine between the two of them for the past week or so; Charlie would sit down in his normal spot, alone, and Molly would come up and ask if she could sit with him again. Every time, he always smiled back and said, 'Okay, sure.' This time was no different.

"Okay, sure." He said, looking up for a second to acknowledge her presence, and then burying himself in a book that was on his lap.

"What are you looking at?" She asked, trying to casually lean over the table, so he didn't know that she was looking.

He brought the book up on the table. "Algebra." He said, flatly.

"Oh…Algebra. Fun. What are you all doing?"

"Square roots." He really didn't look thrilled. Or sound thrilled, for that matter.

"Oh, I remember doing those. Those are kind of tricky, when you first start, but once you get the hang of them, it's fine. You got one of those handy dandy scientific calculators? With all the fun buttons and such?"

A look of total puzzlement crossed his face, but he snapped out of it quickly and gave Molly his calculator. His was nice; it was a blue color, and see through so you could see all the chips and pieces that made it work. She flipped it over, and saw his name wasn't engraved on the back. That made sense, in a way; some psycho stalker person could find the calculator, take it, and build a shrine to it.

"You got a homework paper or something?" He handed that to her also, never taking his eyes off the book. She took it, put it in front of her, and began to glance over it a bit. She was actually relatively good at square roots when they did them in Algebra I; it took her a while to figure out how to simplify the ones that weren't perfect squares, but, once she got the hang of it, she was a whiz with them.

But, while looking at the problems he had written down (in impeccable handwriting…she was jealous), and doing a few of them on the calculator, she noticed that he was completely lost on what he was doing.

"Umm…hey, Charlie?"

"Hmm." He still didn't look up.

"I don't mean to sound mean or anything, but…do you know what you're doing with these?"

That got him to look up. He sighed a bit, closed his textbook, and said straight out, "Molly, I honestly have no idea on what I'm doing in Algebra."

"Hmm…well, have you asked a teacher or anything?"

He thought for a bit. "Well, I've asked an anything…" Molly looked confused. "Don't ask." He added, trying to ease up her confusion. It didn't help.

"How long has this been going on? You being lost, I mean."

"Pretty much after the first 2 weeks of taking Algebra. Completely just lost it."

An idea came into Molly's head. She wasn't too bad at Algebra I; she had about a B+ average when she took it (which she was very proud of, by the way). Charlie evidentally needed some help. So….

"This may be crazy, and random, and out of the blue, but would you want me to tutor you? I mean, I took Algebra last year, and I did pretty well in it. I could probably at least explain things in simpler terms for you, since math is a whole other language in and of itself."

"Would you…would you really do that for me?" He seemed hopeful; almost excited.

Molly smiled. "Well, sure! Why not! It would be fun."

She paused. "…Well, as fun as math can be. But, I'm sure we could make it fun."

"I'll have to talk to my parents about it-"

"No problem. You got any paper?" Charlie fished out a piece of paper from what seemed like thin air and gave it to her. Molly grabbed a pen out of her purse and wrote down her cell phone number. "Go ahead and give me a call when you find out, okay?" She handed the paper to him. "If I don't answer, just go ahead and leave a message. I most likely will answer, though."

He put the paper inside of his Algebra book, then turned back. "Hey, but could you show me how to do square roots today? That's kind of today's homework."

"Hey, why not!" She got up and moved over to his side of the table, noticing that he had a binder underneath the table, allowing her mind to rest as to where the mysterious paper and calculator came from.

"Okay. I'm just going to straight out ask; you know what a perfect square is, right?"

Blank look.

"Okay, a perfect square is a number that's square root is a whole number. Like 25." She typed in 25, then put the square root symbol around it, and pushed enter. The answer was 5. "The square root of 25 is 5, which makes it a perfect square."

"Is it like that for all the numbers that are multiplied twice to get the answer? Like, 4 times 4 is 16, and 6 times 6 is 36?"

She could see the wheels turning. It was good. "Yes, yes, exactly! 16 is a perfect square, along with 36, 4, 144, 9, 49, 64, 81, 100, and a whole bunch of numbers that you probably won't ever know off the top of your head. I know I don't. That's what the calculator's for!"

For the rest of the lunch period, the two of them sat there together, pouring over Algebra. Molly could see that all Charlie needed was for it to be explained a little bit differently then the ways that everything had been explained to him before. She really hoped this tutoring bit would work out; it would really help him out a lot. And, she thought to herself as she went to go grab Angelina after the bell rang, it would make her feel like she could actually achieve something.

* * *

"You've got a phone call…you've got a phone call…you've got a phone - ANSWER IT!"

'This_ cannot_ be happening…' Molly thought to herself as her cell phone screaming from her bedside table shook her out of her sleep. It was 3 in the morning. Who in their right minds would be calling her at 3 in the morning?

"HeLLO?" Molly said when she answered the phone, putting more emphasis on the second syllable, sounding more ticked off than she meant to.

"…Molly?" A small voice responded from the other end. There was no way…

"Charlie?"

"Yes, this is Charlie."

"Charlie, sweetie, why in the HELL are you calling me at 3 in the morning? Better yet, why are you AWAKE at 3 in the morning? We have school tomorrow, shouldn't you be sleeping, like normal people?" She didn't mean to be so snappy, but, when one wakes Molly Relson up at 3 in the morning, it had better be for a good reason. Like there's a nuclear bomb threat. Or someone died. Something like that.

"That's a long story…and I really don't want to get into it right now." Molly made strangling motions in the air when she heard this. "But, I just wanted to call you and let you know that I got the okay from my parents for you to come and tutor me, if the offer is still open."

"Oh, well, that's good news. Would have rather waited until lunch for you to tell me this, but whatever…is there a particular day that will work for you?" She rubbed her eyes a bit, still drowsy.

"Well…Wednesdays would probably be the only day that I'd actually be free after school for it. Would that work?"

"Yeah," Molly said through a yawn, "yeah, that would work. That would be great. So…where am I tutoring you at?"

There was a bit of silence. "Well…", Charlie started, "if it wouldn't be a bother…I was thinking maybe we could have it here…"

"…At the factory?"

"Yeah…if you wouldn't mind. I kind of have an…escort that takes me home after school, so it would be a real hassle to try to get them to remember to not pick me up on a certain day, and you could just ride with me, and…"

"That sounds great to me, Charlie. I'll see you tomorrow at school, mmmkay?"

"Okay, wonderful. I'll see you then."

"Okay. Good night, Charlie."

"Good night, Molly." Dial tone.

Molly drearily hung up the phone, turned over on her side, laid down, and closed her eyes. A few seconds later, they snapped back open.

At the factory? She was going to tutor him at the factory? Why didn't that register before? She was going to go back into the factory! She sat up and grabbed her phone to dial Angelina, then stopped. She couldn't tell her. She couldn't tell anyone. If she did, they'd all try to come with her, and that wouldn't work. She was going there to teach Charlie math once a week, not to get to go into that wonderful chocolate factory.

Not that that wasn't an added bonus, mind you. She put the phone back on the cradle and laid back down, now wide awake. What would she see? Had it changed since she had been in there all those months ago? And, the big question that was on her mind:

Would she see Willy Wonka again?

Another question arose; if she did, would he remember her? It's true that when someone meets a celebrity, they remember that experience for life. But, celebrities meet so many people in their own lifetimes that they don't always remember everyone they come across. She wasn't about to deny it; the experience of meeting and talking to Willy Wonka was one that she often revisited in her mind. It was stupid to wonder about, she knew, but she often wondered if she stuck in his mind like he did in hers.

She put her pillow over her face and let out a sigh. She had a feeling she was not going to get any more sleep that night. In her mind, Wednesday couldn't come soon enough.

**A/N: Whoo hoo, another chappie done! Cliché to make her be the tutor, I know…I couldn't help myself though! Anywho, so, review this one for me, tell me how you like it…I'm going to be renting/buying (if I have the money) CatCF here soon, so I can get some creative juices flowing on this again, cause it needs it…but yeah. So, I will be writing some more very soon! Thank you all for reading this!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hello again all! So…new chapter. To be quite honest, I have no idea where this one is going to go. I guess I'll just brainstorm a bit and write as I go. *shrugs* Who knows, something good might come from it!**

**Well, wish me luck, and on with the chapter!**

**Chapter 6  
**

The day seemed to drag on forever. Wednesday had finally come, the day that Molly was going to start tutoring Charlie, but also the day that she would be able to go back into the factory that she had dreamt about for the past 2 nights. Needless to say, she just wanted the school day to get over.

It was a gorgeous day outside, so gorgeous that the school administration allowed the students to eat lunch outside for a change. From what Angelina told her later, Molly learned that this didn't happen very often, so it was a rare treat. The group of them walked out the doors into the warm sunshine; Molly right beside Angelina, Angelina beside Stephen, Gwen, Jess, and Eric in front of them.

It was strange, though. She hadn't seen Charlie that entire day, which wasn't a good thing, since she was supposed to tutor him after school (a fact that she couldn't keep out of her mind for one second). What if he wasn't there? Should she just…go to the factory? Or should she just skip it?

"Umm…Molly?" Stephen asked, looking back at where she stood. "You coming?"

She blinked a couple times to snap out of her thought process. "Yeah, I'm coming."

"You are a strange one." He said, shaking his head with a smile as she caught up to the group. The administration had scattered red and white checked blankets all over the school grounds, so that it would almost seem like a picnic setting. Gwen plopped down on one underneath a large, shady oak tree. Everyone followed, taking off their shoes as they did so. Molly sat down and took hers off, too, wiggling her toes in the fresh air.

"So, how has everyone's' day been so far?" Gwen asked with a perky smile.

"I want to shoot the Calc teacher right now…" Eric mumbled.

"Aww, I'm sorry! Why?" Angelina asked.

"Because Calc just sucks." He said with a smirk.

"Amen to that," Jess chimed in, "Calc is crazy and annoying. Why do we have to even do Calc? I don't think musicians need it in their careers."

"You never know." Molly chimed in. "You may have to some day write a song about various Calculus problems, and their solutions. It could raise money for underprivileged children."

"Ha ha…that made me think of Zoolander for some reason. Random." Jesse said as he laidd back on the blanket, resting his head in his hands.

Molly couldn't help but smile. Zoolander was also one of her favorite movies. "The 'Derek Zoolander Center for Kids who don't Read Good'! You could make one called the 'Jess McCarthey Center for Kids who can't do Math Good' or something. Make songs about math to teach them math."

"That's pretty crazy, but I hate math, so I couldn't write songs about it even if I tried."

Her eyes flicked over to Angelina and Stephen. They were sitting together…sitting rather close, as a matter of fact. She was smoothing her skirt over her legs, smiling as she did so. He was going on about something; probably about a new indie movie he discovered. Molly wondered if Stephen had any idea.

She lay back in the grass. The end of school couldn't come soon enough!

* * *

'3:28', her watch read. Molly sat on one of the old, red benches outside of the school, in the back, waiting for Charlie. Even after lunch, she didn't see him, but she figured that she might as well wait outside for him, just in case he was at school, and she was completely oblivious to him. She hoped that wasn't the case; if it was, she'd feel really bad.

'3:29'. She bounced her leg impatiently. He said 3:30, right? Or was it 3:45? Or 3:15? What if it was 3:15? She would have missed him! Or did he even say a time? She couldn't remember. 'I should call him, just to make sure…'

She was just about to pull her cell phone out of her bag when a shiny black limo pulled up beside her. The back passenger window rolled down, revealing Charlie, brown eyes sparkling.

"Hello there, Molly! Are you still up for tutoring tonight?"

"Charlie! I was just about to call you…yes! I'm up for it!" She leaped up from her seat, grabbed her bag, and rushed over to the limo, opening the door and climbing in.

The inside was completely plush, colored a deep purple. Tubes of neon lights ran across the top of it, changing from purple to pink to green to orange to yellow to blue and back again. On the right side there was a small mini-bar (which she was almost positive didn't have any alcohol in it), a few bowls of mints, and a little television.

To her surprise, there wasn't a Wonka logo anywhere.

The limo started again, and they were on their way. Fishing through her bag, she found her beret and put it on. The school didn't allow hats during the day, so she was forced to carry her beloved accessory around in her bag all day. But, as soon as school got out, she put it on as soon as possible. Her head just didn't feel right without it.

"Hey, I've never seen you wear that before." Charlie said.

"Oh, this?" She pointed to her head. He nodded. "It was a present from my Aunt Sarah when she got back from France. It's authentic."

"It's nice."

"…Were you at school today?" Molly asked, out of the blue. She realized it was rather random, so she figured she should back it up fast. "I was just wondering, since I didn't see you at all today, and I was hoping that I didn't just overlook you, because that would be a really bad thing for me to do, and…yeah. So, were you there?"

He laughed a bit. "No, you didn't overlook me. I didn't show up at school until about 6th hour."

"Why?"

"Oh…just some business. A few mishaps, a couple explosions. Had to chase a piece of candy with legs around for about an hour before I finally caught it. Things like that."

"…You had to _chase_ it?"

He nodded like it was something normal. "Oh yeah. Willy's been working on some sort of new candy that's supposed to give you energy. Almost like an energy bar, I guess. Well…it somehow got _too _energized, and it sprouted legs, and it started running around the room. And, of course, I had to chase it." He paused. "It was kind of funny, looking back on it…but, at the time, it really wasn't. It kind of sucked."

"Well…I guess chasing a…piece of…candy would suck." Molly replied, not sure of what to say. "Sounds like you had a heck of a day."

He nodded, eyes wide. "Yeah. It was crazy. Willy almost made me stay the entire day, but I snuck out before he could get me. It kind of backfired, though, since I had to call him to send some sort of transportation out to get me. He wasn't too happy." He looked over at Molly. "If we happen to run across him today, which we probably will, since he's probably going to be looking for me when we get there, he may be a little…edgy. Just to warn you."

She smiled. "Thanks for the warning. So…are you ready to tackle Algebra?"

"God no. Are you crazy? Math is my sworn enemy…"

"That seems to be a common theme among the male species today. Jess and Eric were saying at lunch that they hated Calc. Who can blame them, though; Calc is crazy. I've never seen so many variables and exponents together at one time…"

Charlie nodded in agreement. "Calculus is pretty nuts. Chemistry is what gets me, though; and I apparently need to be really good at it here soon…" He sighed. "Don't know if that's going to happen, since I really suck at math."

"Well, hopefully, if I can teach it well enough, we can at least improve your math skills a bit from sucking to…not…sucking." She sighed. "I think I should just stop talking now."

"Don't do that! Then I'll have to talk to myself, and that's no fun!"

"Aww, you're so sweet! Thank you for not making me stop talking! That would have been torture for me!"

The limo suddenly came to a stop. Charlie looked out the window. "Hey, we're here already! Wow, that was a fast ride…anyways, come on, let's go inside. My parents are really anxious to meet you." He reached over and opened the door, climbing out ahead of Molly.

"Really? How come?" She emerged from the limo to find herself, once again, on the other side of the golden gates, the side that everyone in the world would kill to be on; the inside. She quickly closed the door behind her and ran up to where Charlie was.

"Oh, there you are." He pushed a few buttons on the side of the building. "My parents have always tried to be involved in my social life, making sure that I've got the 'right influences' (he did air-quotations when he said this) in my life and everything. But, especially now, since I'm here and everything, they are just really protective of me." There was a low beeping noise, and what looked like a solid wall became a sliding door, which opened up to a long hallway, complete with a red carpet down the center. It reminded Molly of the main hallway that she had used to exit the first time she came to the factory.

"Okay, follow me closely, because it's really easy to get lost in here." Charlie said as he started to walk down the hallway. Molly was half-tempted to comment on that, saying that she had gotten lost in here before, but she restrained herself, not wanting to open that can of worms.

They went through that hallway, passing many doors and windows as they did so. She couldn't tell, but in one of the windows, she thought she saw pink sheep. Eventually, they came across a large set of double-doors, which, when they pushed them open, revealed the acid-trip-inducing-kaleidoscope-of-colors-complete-with-a-chocolate-waterfall room. That was such a great room. She quickly bent down and grabbed a few blades of grass, then followed Charlie towards the small shack next to the waterfall.

"Mom, dad, I'm home." Charlie yelled out as the two of them went into the shack. It was nice, Molly had to admit; it was made of all wood, though there were no holes or cracks in it, the furniture was nicely arranged, and it was very clean, which gave it a friendly feeling. This wasn't just a shack; this was a home. It was wonderful.

"Hello Charlie! Be there in a second!" A woman (Molly assumed it was his mom) called from behind the stairway. They heard a few rustling noises, and the sound of metal being moved to the floor, and then she came into view. She was a pleasant looking woman, with dark brown hair and a kind face.

"So, this must be Molly!" She said with a smile. "Hello Molly, I'm Mrs. Bucket. I'm afraid I can't talk for very long; I've been told I need to bake a few dozen cookies for something…I have no idea what, but I enjoy cooking. Feel free to do whatever anywhere, I'll try not to be too noisy." She then ran over to the kitchen area and started getting out supplies for the cookies.

"Eh…does she bake for no reason a lot?" Molly asked.

"Oh, no doubt Willy asked her to make them for one reason or another. Probably for himself. He likes her cookies."

"Oh. Okay." She looked around a little bit.

"I know it's not much, really…especially compared with the factory and all…" Charlie started, looking around too.

"No, this is…this is really nice. It's cozy. I like it."

He perked up a bit. "Well, good. Glad you like it. Let me run upstairs and get some stuff, I'll be right back."

"Okay." Charlie ran up the stairs to what Molly guessed was his room. She sat down in a chair that was nearby, still looking around, taking it all in. It really was a nice little place. She couldn't believe how much she was loving being here.

"Oh dear…" Mrs. Bucket's voice was heard from the kitchen. Molly got up to see what the matter was. She was on her knees, looking through a cabinet, evidently not finding what she was looking for.

"Umm…Mrs. Bucket? Is everything…okay?"

Mrs. Bucket sighed. "It seems I'm out of flour. That's not good. And I can't go into Mr. Wonka's kitchen anymore…" She turned around and looked at Molly. "Long story on that, but, basically, I was taking too many of his supplies from his kitchen and he ended up short on stuff. He banned me from his kitchen." She paused. "But you're not banned from it…"

'Oh great…' Molly thought to herself. Mrs. Bucket was plotting something.

"Molly…would you be a dear and get me some flour? I'll write out directions for you to get to the kitchen; it's really not that difficult, and it would be a big help to me."

"…You want me to go get flour for you?"

Mrs. Bucket nodded. "Yes…2 bags of it or so. That would be wonderful." She grabbed a napkin from the table and started writing down directions to the kitchen. Before Molly knew it, she was being shuffled out the door, directions in one hand, mp3 player in the other, on her way to grab some flour.

Staring at all the open cabinets in the kitchen, Molly could not believe what she was seeing. It was like a baker's dream. Every kind of spice imaginable, bags of sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, flour, boxes of baking soda, cans of baking powder and salt. She figured everything else involved in baking would be inside of the large refrigerator that was next to these cabinets.

She reached for the bags of flour, finding she wasn't tall enough. Looking around her, she discovered two wooden chairs in the corner. She dragged one of them over and put it near the cabinets. Reaching up, she grabbed two bags of flour and set them on the counter underneath the cabinets. She also grabbed a little jar of nutmeg, remembering that Aunt Sarah always used nutmeg in her cookies, and it always made them better. Maybe Mrs. Bucket would want to try it. It was worth a shot anyways.

As she jumped down, she thought she heard something fall a little ways from her. She looked over to the left, and who was standing there, but Mr. Willy Wonka himself, eyes wide, looking very startled.

A few seconds passed, neither one of them looking away from the other. Finally, Willy spoke. "Who are you…and why are you in here?"

Molly smiled weakly. "Umm…well…I'm one of Charlie's friends, and Mrs. Bucket sent me down here to get her some flour." She quickly grabbed the nutmeg and held it up. "I also got some nutmeg for her because my Aunt Sarah always made her cookies with a bit of nutmeg in them, and it makes them taste ten times better…"

"You're a…friend of…Charlie's?" He still looked very confused.

She nodded. "Yep. Actually, I'm here to tutor him in Algebra, but Mrs. Bucket is such a nice lady, and she needed flour, so yeah…" She slowly grabbed the flour bags and started walking towards the door. "I think I'm going to…umm…go now…"

"I know you." Willy said when she reached the door. Molly froze. He couldn't remember her…could he?

"At least…yeah, I know you. You were here once, in this factory, weren't you?"

She turned around and looked at him. His violet eyes were focused right on her. Nodding slowly, she replied "Yeah…during the summer. I was here."

He clapped his hands. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew I had seen you before, but I couldn't figure out where…and then it just came to me like that," he snapped one of his gloved hands, "and I thought, 'Hey, she's been here! I remember that hat!' Or whatever it was called…it had a fancy name, didn't it?"

"…Beret."

"That's right, a beret. I knew I remembered that from somewhere." He paused, eyes becoming focused on her again. "…Molly, right?"

No way! He remembered her name! "Yeah, that's me." She said with a smile.

"Well fantastic! I was wondering if my memory was going or not…guess not, if I can remember all of that!" He looked at his wrist, where there wasn't a watch. "Oh goodness, look at the time! So much time, so little to do! Wait…" He shook his head. "Strike that, reverse it, there we go!" He tipped his hat at her. "Molly, wonderful to see you again, hopefully we'll see each other…again again…but I must be off! Good day!"

And, with that, he turned on his heels and ran out of the kitchen, leaving Molly with two bags of flour in her arms, a hand with a jar of nutmeg in it, and her body unable to move.

'He remembered my name…'

**A/N: Haha! Yes! Another meeting! Yay! Tell me, did I get Willy right for this part? I need to rent the movie because, sadly, I don't own it (IT'S SO SAD! *cries*), and I have to brush up on my Willy-isms and everything. Yeah. So, R+R, and please tell me what you think! Any flames, I will roast marshmallows over them…but still send them! Criticism is a good thing! ^_^**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm back! Whoo hoo! So…I don't really know where this story is going at the moment. It's just kind of…what comes up in my mind. I love writing like this, it feels so free! I'll get to the structured stuff again soon, but I hope you all can bear with my free writing for a couple more chappies! **

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, and on with the chapter!**

**Chapter 7  
**

Molly tutored Charlie for another month, but, after a while, he seemed to grasp it on his own. In his class, the teacher gave out grade printouts every week, and he would show them to her when he received them. His grade continued to increase and increase until it leveled out at a solid A-. They both came to the mutual decision that she had finished her job, and done it well. But, she still went over to the factory weekly, if not a couple of times a week.

Winter rolled around early; it started snowing in November. Charlie asked Molly to come over the last Friday in November and stay the night, since his family "just adored her", as he put it, and they wanted their son to "have a good influence". Molly started laughing after she heard this…she was definitely NOT a good influence on anyone. At least, she didn't think she was.

After sorting out with Miranda (and checking three times to make sure that Miranda wouldn't spaz out about it), she accepted, packed all of her stuff up, and dropped it off at the back door of the factory, like Charlie had said to do. The Oompa Loompa who took her stuff inside was the same one who took her beret the first time she was at the factory, and he looked sheepishly away as he grabbed her bag and pillow and scurried off. She shook her head and started back on the way to school.

* * *

"Hey, turn the radio up, please." Charlie said as him and Molly got into the limo together. Charlie had been saying how he was rather excited about having Molly stay over; not because he was having a girl spend the night (which seemed to make him happy anyway, Molly figured), but because it would give him someone to talk to other than his parents, the Oompa Loompas, and Willy.

"My parents are…well, my parents," he started, "the Oompa Loompas only squeak back at you and make weird hand motions, and Willy can be fun to talk to sometimes, but he's normally either stressed out or going out of his mind." He paused, then turned to Molly. "Umm…I just remembered that he doesn't know that you're coming over."

"You didn't tell him?" Molly said, a little shocked. She hadn't directly seen Willy since the night she made cookies with Mrs. Bucket, but she had heard him and Charlie talking, and Willy didn't seem to really like Molly being around much, which made her sad, since she liked him. A lot.

He shook his head. "Nope. Completely slipped my mind."

Molly sighed. "Okay, well…I'll just try not to touch anything, look at anything, or do anything along the lines of breathing or moving."

Charlie started cracking up, then called for the radio to be turned up again.

"Why do you want the radio up? You never seemed to be one that cared about music." The only thing that Molly didn't really like about Charlie was that she couldn't talk about music with him. It wasn't that he didn't like music; it was just that he didn't _care_. And, being that she could talk about music for hours, it sort of threw her off.

"I just want to hear the weather," he said. "I kept hearing different reports of it either snowing or not snowing tonight…" He shrugged. "Just curious."

The sounds of "Across The Universe" by The Beatles started filling the car. The driver of the limousine had a very eclectic taste in music, from what Molly could tell. Though she had never seen who it was, she could tell that they would get along very well. Everything from Run DMC to the Dixie Chicks to The Beatles to Alice In Chains had been played in the limo every time she got in it, and she enjoyed every second of it.

"This song always makes me feel like I'm on an acid trip." Molly stated, leaning back in the limo seat and closing her eyes. "I think that's what they were going for..."

"You and acid, I swear." Charlie shook his head, smiling. "You compare everything to acid."

Her eyes opened and she lazily turned her head to look at him. "What do you mean, Charlie?"

"Well…" he started counting on his fingers, "the factory, my tie-dye shirt that I wore that one time, the kaleidoscope you found in your room, and now the Beatles…"

"But it's not the Beatles in general. 'Love Me Do' doesn't make me feel trippy. Just stuff like… 'Across the Universe' and 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds'…songs like that." She paused, and started to smirk a bit. "But you don't care, do you?"

He shook his head, trying not to laugh. "Nope."

She threw a paper wad at him.

"How did that start, anyways?" he asked, rubbing the spot where she threw it at him.

Molly shrugged, resuming her earlier position of leaning back and listening to the song.

* * *

"There's a computer in here and everything!" Molly exclaimed as she sat down in the chair near the computer. The room Charlie had put her in was lovely; everything was either pale pink, white, or a candy apple red, the bed was squishy, there was a computer (as she stated before) up against the far wall, and a gorgeous chandelier that lit up the room. It also smelled like Skittles in there, for whatever reason.

Charlie nodded. "Yep, there's pretty much everything in here." He walked over to the right wall and pushed a small button behind the lamp on the nightstand. A section of the wall slid up and revealed a really nice bathroom. "There's a bathroom here, too."

"Wow…this is cool!" She exclaimed, spinning in the computer chair.

He nodded. "If I could take this room for me, I so would."

"But…it's pink."

"Yeah…that's why I don't want to take it."

She rolled her eyes and started messing on the computer. He took his shoes off and laid down on the bed with his arms behind his head.

"Dang, it's got high-speed and everything…" she said to herself as she proceeded to check her email, sign on to instant messenger, and pull up a playlist she had made on one of those streaming music websites. Almost instantly, "Rock The Kasbah" by The Clash started coming through the speakers, and an IM from Angelina popped up.

"Hey, I actually know this song." Charlie said. "I hear Mr. Wonka play this every once in a while."

"Willy listens to The Clash?" Molly turned around, her eyes huge.

He sat up and pointed to the computer screen. "Is that what this is?"

She nodded.

"Then, yeah, I guess so." He plopped back down, reaching over and grabbing a book that was on the nightstand.

Molly shook her head, turning back to the computer to look at the IM from Angelina. 'Never would have pictured him as a Clash fan…but…whatever.'

xxLOVExxPAINxx: hey chica, where are you?  
Faded Galaxia: I'm with Charlie.  
xxLOVExxPAIN: the factory again?  
Faded Galaxia: *nods* Yep. Again.  
xxLOVExxPAIN: isn't that the third time this week?  
Faded Galaxia: …no. This is the first time this week.  
xxLOVExxPAIN: oh. my bad. ^_^  
xxLOVExxPAIN: so what's up?  
Faded Galaxia: Not much. Just chilling in this fantastic room Charlie got me set up in.  
xxLOVExxPAIN: details, details.  
Faded Galaxia: It's pink and red and white…and smells like Skittles.  
xxLOVExxPAIN: …skittles? random.  
Faded Galaxia: I know, right?  
Faded Galaxia: You?  
xxLOVExxPAIN: oh, well…*starts giggling*  
Faded Galaxia: ….  
xxLOVExxPAIN: i'm at someone's house right now…  
xxLOVExxPAIN: i bet you can't guess who it is, either…  
Faded Galaxia: …Gwen?  
xxLOVExxPAIN: *shakes head* nope.  
Faded Galaxia: …yours?  
xxLOVExxPAIN: lol. no, silly.

"Who are you talking to, if you don't mind me being completely nosy?" Charlie asked, only his eyes visible beneath the book.

"Angelina."

"Oh. Tell her I said hello." Molly's group, sans Gwen, had basically taken Charlie under their wing. Gwen constantly tried to talk to him, but, every time she did, one of the guys or Angelina would grab her arm and pull her away. They did the best they could to keep her grubby little paws off of him.

Plus, Charlie had a little bit of a crush on Angelina. "It's the sparkly gold eyeliner," he once told Molly. "It makes her really pretty."

"I will."

Faded Galaxia: Charlie says hello, btw.  
xxLOVExxPAIN: tell him i said hello lovely!

"She says 'hello lovely!'". Charlie laughed a bit, then continued reading. The song changed to "Caring Is Creepy" by The Shins, and Molly started to hum along with it as she typed some more.

xxLOVExxPAIN: give up?  
Faded Galaxia: *sigh* Yes. I give up.  
xxLOVExxPAIN: i am at…  
xxLOVExxPAIN: *pause for dramatic effect*  
xxLOVExxPAIN: …STEPHEN'S HOUSE!  
Faded Galaxia: O_O Really?  
xxLOVExxPAIN: yep. *beams*  
Faded Galaxia: Well…is there…a reason for this?  
xxLOVExxPAIN: …maybe…

"GAH!" Molly said, pulling on her hair a bit.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, Angelina's just being stupid."

xxLOVExxPAIN: we're actually going to…umm…go out to see a movie in a bit.  
xxLOVExxPAIN: ^_^  
Faded Galaxia: Oh, you cheeky little monkey! *chases around the room*  
Faded Galaxia: Why didn't you tell me?  
xxLOVExxPAIN: well…it just kinda happened. i have no idea how, but it did. so yeah. we're gonna go see a movie. and god knows where it will go from there.  
Faded Galaxia: Behave, girl. You guys may have known each other for eternity, but don't just throw yourself at him.  
xxLOVExxPAIN: lol  
xxLOVExxPAIN: ok, i'll try not to. *winks*  
Faded Galaxia: *rolls eyes* Whatever girl. Hey, I g2g keep Charlie company, cause it's kinda rude of me to just sit here and talk to you and not talk to him.  
xxLOVExxPAIN: gotcha lovely.  
Faded Galaxia: Call me later, mmkay? I want to know EVERYTHING.  
xxLOVExxPAIN: sounds good. smooches.  
Faded Galaxia: Smooches!

_xxLOVExxPAIN has signed off._

Molly spun around and looked at Charlie, who was reading intently in his book. "Whatcha reading?"

"Oh, umm…" he looked at the spine, since he had apparently taken the book cover off (it was a hard back). "Wuthering Heights."

"…For school, right?"

He blushed a bit. "Umm...actually, no…"

Molly got up and plopped next to him on the bed. "So, you're reading it out of your own free will?"

He gulped and nodded. "Yeah. I am. I've…always wanted to read it, actually."

She smiled. "Aww, that's so sweet! Where are you?"

"Oh, well, I'm close to the end…" he said, scanning the page he was on. "Heathcliff just died."

"Ah, I vaguely remember that. I read that book a while ago." Molly thought about when she was reading it. One of the more recent summer vacations she had…being in her room…all alone…the door locked…windows sealed shut…

"Hey, Molly…you okay?" Charlie asked, nudging her on the shoulder.

She shook herself out of her flashback. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay." He turned back to his book, then looked back at her. "Hey, would you do me a favor?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm kinda hungry, but I don't want to move, cause this bed is comfy…would you go get me some food?"

Molly grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. "Whatever. What do you want?"

"Something." Charlie smiled. "I don't care."

"Okay. I'll be back." She grabbed her mp3 player and started walking the all familiar way to the kitchen.

* * *

"Well, Charlie, I hope you like bananas, because I brought the whole thing back with me – oh, hello." Molly stopped in the doorway when she heard what was going on. Apparently, Willy and Charlie had just been in the middle of a heated discussion about God-knows-what, and she had just interrupted it. She could tell they had been arguing because Charlie's face was all red, and his eyes were large. Willy's back was to her, but he turned around when he heard her speak, and his eyes were also large.

"What is _she_ doing here?" Willy asked, his voice deeper than she had ever heard it before, and dripping with anger.

"She's staying the night here tonight." Charlie stated rather matter-of-factly. "In this room," he added.

"And you didn't tell me…why?"

Charlie shrugged defiantly. "Didn't feel the need, I guess."

"Do your p-…p-…"

"My parents? They know. I made sure to tell them." He started to smirk, a crazy glint in his eye. "I don't have to get permission from you to have friends over. Especially since I don't care what you think, anyways."

From the view of Willy she was getting, she saw him move backwards a little bit, like he had been hit with something. Molly had never heard Charlie talk like that before. Something had to have happened to make Charlie this angry that he would say something like that to his mentor.

'Oh shit.' Molly thought. She was feeling extremely awkward right then. "Well, umm…I think I'm going to go busy myself with something else…" She started to back up.

"No, Molly," Charlie called, "stay. There's no reason for you to leave."

"Umm…okay then." She went back to the doorway, but not a step further.

There was an awful tension in the room that lasted for a few seconds. No one spoke. Willy was frozen, and Charlie only continued to smirk defiantly at him.

"Fine," Willy started after what seemed like forever, his voice barely audible, "do what you want." He squeaked his gloves a bit, then turned and walked out of the doorway. Molly thought she saw a bit of shine in his eyes when he walked past her, like he was tearing up, but she wasn't sure.

A few more seconds went by. "What the hell was that all about?" Molly asked.

Charlie shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Willy being his typical bull-headed self." He sighed. "There's a certain thing that we've been working on for a few weeks, and we keep getting in fights about it, because he says to do one thing, and I say to do another…but my way is the right way to do it!" He put a pillow over his face and growled a bit, then continued on. "So, we've been going back and forth for a while, and while you were in the kitchen, he came in and said that he had come to the decision that we were going to go with his way, and that I had no say in the matter. So, I went 'No, if we're going to do it your way, we're going with mine, too, to see which works better.' He didn't like that much, and we kind of got in a huge fight…then you walked in, and that just set him off even more, I could tell, but he didn't want you to see him like that."

"Why would he not want me to see him like that? What would it matter? He doesn't like me being here anyways."

He sighed. "He's…I'm the only one that ever sees him angry, since I'm the only one that he really is more himself around, and, since he doesn't know you…he's just like that."

Molly nodded. "Yeah. Makes sense, I guess." It didn't really make that much sense to her at that point, but she figured it would come to her later. Things like that normally did.

"Sorry you had to see that, though."

"Nah, don't worry about it." She said, sitting down on the bed near him. "It happens. You've never seen my sister and I fight."

"You fight with your sister? Isn't she…your best friend or something?"

Molly nodded. "Yeah, Mira's pretty much my best friend, but even best friends fight, you know? It's just bickering, though…except if I stay out too late and don't call or anything." She sighed. "She's trying to be responsible for me, I know, but it's kind of annoying. And it scares Sherri to death."

"Sherri?" Charlie asked.

Molly smiled. "Yeah…my little niece, Sherri. She's about 2 years old, and the cutest thing ever. Miranda named her after the one Steve Perry song, 'Oh Sherri', or whatever it's called…" She shook her head a bit. "She loves Journey and Steve Perry too much for her own good."

"Hmm. I'll just pretend to know what you're talking about." Molly threw another pillow at him, both of them giggling. He then grabbed one of the bananas that Molly had brought and started eating it. She took one, too, and started eating it. They both just sat there, poking each other every once in a while, eating all of the bananas that were on the bed.

_

* * *

"Hey sweetie, you want me to braid your hair for you?" Miranda asked a 7 – year old Molly, who was sitting in the middle of their room, playing with her Barbies. Miranda was 13 at the time, and was lying on her bed, reading her Seventeen magazines when she happened to glance at Molly's hair, and got the sudden urge to braid it._

_ Molly turned, wide-eyed, and a big smile on her face. "Would you, sissie?"_

_ Miranda smiled. "Of course honey. Grab your brush over there and come over here and I'll do it for you."_

_ "Okay!" Molly hopped up, grabbed her brush from her nightstand, and practically threw it at Miranda in excitement, who had grabbed a few ponytail holders and stuck them on her wrist._

_ Miranda combed through her hair gently, since Molly's hair was extremely thick at that time, and curly like none other. Molly always liked Miranda brushing her hair, since her mom was really rough when she did it, and she couldn't reach all of the knots underneath. When she was finished, Miranda separated Molly's hair into three sections and began to braid it. Molly grabbed one of her Barbies and proceeded to braid her hair as well._

_ "There." Miranda said after a while. "All done." Molly jumped up and looked at her hair in the small mirror in their room._

_ "Sissie, it' s so pretty! Thank you!"_

_ Miranda smiled. "No problem, honey. Now…" she turned and looked at the clock. "It's about 8, so you should be going to bed."_

_ "Aww, do I have to?" Molly protested. Miranda nodded, and she sighed. "Okay sissie. I'll go to bed."_

_ "That's my girl." Molly crawled into her bed, snuggling in with her teddy bear. Miranda tucked her in and kissed the top of her head. "Good night, sweetie."_

_ "Good night, Mira." Molly said as she rolled over. Miranda turned off the light and crept out of the room. Molly could hear her go down the stairs and turn the TV on._

_ A few hours later, Molly lazily put her head up to the sounds of someone yelling. It was muffled, but someone was yelling. She rubbed her eyes, got out of bed, and crept out of the room towards the stairs._

_ The house was laid out in a way that the stairs were in the middle of the house, but had a wall blocking the view of all the rooms upstairs. Molly peeked around the corner of the wall to see what was happening in the living room, still clutching her teddy bear._

_ "What the hell do you think you're doing awake?" Her dad yelled at Miranda, who was laying on the couch, watching TV. His slurred words told Molly that he had been out drinking again. She was surprised that mom wasn't home yet._

_ "It's only 11 o clock. Molly's asleep upstairs. Mom's not here, and Marie is over at her friends house. It's Friday, too, you know. I can stay up late."_

_ "Like hell you can stay awake." He said, stumbling over to her and grabbing her wrist tightly. She kicked him in the stomach, causing him to let go of her wrist, and she got up and walked to the kitchen. When he had regained his composure, he went in the kitchen too._

_ Molly couldn't see in the kitchen from where she was perched, but she could hear everything that was going on. She heard her sister scream, "NO, LEAVE ME ALONE!", while her dad laughed. There was a thud, like something landed on the kitchen table, and the sound of broken glass. Her dad laughed for a bit longer, and then it went quiet, except for the sound of Miranda softly crying._

_ Leaving her hiding spot, Molly ran back into her room and crawled back into bed, curling up in the fetal position, arms around her teddy bear, holding her close to her body, and cried. _

_ Her sister came in the room a while later and got in her bed, sniffling uncontrollably. Molly got out of her bed and ran over to Miranda's, climbing in next to her, both of them crying._

Molly's eyes snapped open, and she became aware that there were tears streaming down her face. She sat up and wiped her face off, looking at the time. "12:46", the clock read. Closing her eyes, she tried to calm herself after the dream, wiping her eyes again, breathing deeply. Only a few years ago, that had been her reality. A few months ago, that was where she was. In that house. With that man.

Sighing, she grabbed her mp3 player and decided to go to the kitchen to get something to drink.

* * *

She listened to a few Who songs on her way to the kitchen, but that didn't even help. She turned off her mp3 player and stuck it in the pocket of her pajama bottoms, not caring that the ear buds were sticking out.

There was someone else in the kitchen when she got there, she could tell, even though there weren't any lights on – they were in the dark, standing up against the window, watching the snowfall. 'No wonder Charlie wanted to listen to the weather, it's really coming down.' she thought to herself. From the silhouette against the window, she could tell it was Willy. She decided to not stay in there long; just get something to drink and then walk back up to her room. Opening the fridge, she grabbed an apple juice box from the door.

"Snow is so peaceful, isn't it?" Willy spoke, and she froze. "It's almost like rain…it cleanses the world. Only snow makes the world look white. Pure. Innocent."

"Umm…yeah. Snow is nice." She felt like such a moron saying that, but she was caught so off guard by him noticing her that it was the first thing that came to her mind.

"It's rather late at night to be rummaging through my kitchen, don't you think?"

"Oh…well…" That caught her off guard, too. She was afraid that he would be angry. "I...I couldn't sleep is all…"

He shook his head. "No matter. I couldn't sleep either." He turned around, and she could tell he was looking at her, even though she couldn't see him. "Do you enjoy watching snow?"

'Something is a little off here…' she thought to herself as she nodded yes. He didn't seem to be acting like the normal Willy Wonka that she was used to seeing randomly and hearing about from Charlie. He seemed more…pensive, more thoughtful…deeper than usual.

"A little company would be nice, for once…would you stay in here for a while?" He asked her.

'Yeah, there is definitely something off here.' She walked over to the window and stood next to him, watching the snow fall. It really was peaceful to look at; it was coming down even harder now, with the wind swirling the snow around in various patterns.

They stood in silence for a while. Every once in a while, Molly's eyes would flick over to look at Willy, who never seemed to take his violet eyes off the snow, then look back outside.

"Do…do you…" Willy started, his voice barely audible like it was when him and Charlie's argument had ended, "Do you think that Charlie…meant what he said?"

Molly looked at Willy, who was looking at her, but avoiding meeting her eyes. She could tell that he was extremely bothered by what Charlie had said to him earlier.

"No, I don't think he did. He was just caught up in the heat of the moment." She sighed. "I know I've said things to people that I didn't mean when I was in an argument." He turned back to the window. "Don't let it get to you."

He sighed. "I know he didn't mean it. I didn't mean most of the things I said to him…but I don't know how to make it right again."

"…How about apologizing?"

"Well, yeah, apologizing, that will happen, but…" he nervously squeaked his gloves. "What about after that. How do you make it right after the apology?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know…" he ran a hand through his hair, then turned back to her, this time meeting her eyes. She was glad it was dark, because she felt her cheeks get a little warm. "Sometimes, even after the apology, it's still strained…ever have that happen?"

"Yeah, I have. One of the times my sister and I fought, we didn't talk for a week. And, even after we apologized to each other, it still took a while for us to talk again. But, the only thing you can do it work at making it right again, you know?"

He nodded, not taking his eyes off of her. "Yeah, I guess you're right…" He then started giggling a bit.

'Okay, that's more the Willy I've come to know.'

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, not much." He squeaked his glove again. "It's just that I'm standing here, telling you about my problems, when I'm supposed to not even like you being around." He shook his head, still giggling. "Funny how my brain tends to work."

Molly smiled a bit. "Well, I don't mind you talking to me, or even just staying in the same room with me. It's a nice change of pace from Charlie saying things like, 'Oh, don't let Mr. Wonka see you', and things like that."

"I guess I'm still kinda tense about other people being in the factory besides the ones I let in myself, cause I don't want to have to kick anyone out or anything for stealing stuff again." His voice got soft again. "I hated doing that. I really did."

She nodded. "I understand where you're coming from, but I promise you, Mr. Wonka (she didn't feel like it would be right to call him "Willy", since this was only the 3rd time she had talked to him), that I am not here to steal anything. I promise." She added as an extra enforcement.

Willy sighed, and then looked back out the window. "It will take me a while longer to get used to you being here…you're not planning on never coming back, are you?"

She giggled a bit. "No, I think I'm probably going to keep coming here as long as Charlie and I are still friends."

"Oh, well then…I'll get used to you." He looked at her again. "But, you have to swear that you're not going to take anything. Ever. Swear it."

"I swear."

His expression didn't change for a few seconds. It seemed like he was analyzing her eyes for any trace of not being truthful. "Okay. I believe you." He said, a small smile tugging at his lips.

Molly suddenly yawned, and noticed that she was tired once again, the dream hangover gone. "I'm tired again."

The small smile turned into a grin. "Then go to sleep, silly girl."

She smiled back. "I think I will. Good night, Mr. Wonka."

"Molly?" He asked when she had gotten to the doorway.

"Hmm?" She responded, fighting the goose bumps she got from him saying her name.

"Why don't you go ahead and call me Willy? Mr. Wonka makes me sound way too old."

She nodded. "Okay. Good night, then…Willy." More goose bumps.

"Good night."

**A/N: Oh my goodness…so that chapter took me waaay too long to write! Sorry for the delay, everyone, just been busy with school and the new Harry Potter story that I've started to write. I'll still keep working on this one, though, since I loooove it to pieces! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and why don't you go ahead and review again? It would be lovely if you did!**

**Till next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey all…I'm sick today, so I'm gonna crank out a chapter in this story, a chapter in my Harry Potter story, and maybe even one in my Star Wars story (which has apparently died…*whistles absentmindedly to herself*)**

**Here goes nothing!**

**Chapter 8  
**

Molly slowly opened her eyes, running a hand through her hair to get it out of her face. The clock told her that it was close to 8 in the morning, so she decided to get up and go visit the Buckets to see if they had any food.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Charlie said cheerfully as she walked into their little house. He was seated at the table, wearing flannel pajamas with vertical blue stripes and one of the worst cases of bedhead that she had ever seen.

…Then, of course, she hadn't seen her hair yet, so she could have the worst case of bedhead, and not even know it.

"Morning, Charlie." She took the seat next to him, rubbing her eyes, hoping that she didn't have too bad of raccoon eyes that morning.

"I was wondering if I was going to have to go in the room and poke you awake…"

"Yeah, and how long have you been awake?"

"Only a few minutes," Mrs. Bucket chimed in, setting a large plate of French toast on the table. "I had to go and wake him up."

Charlie stuck his tongue out at Molly, who rolled her eyes and smiled. Mr. Bucket emerged out of nowhere, gave his wife a kiss on the cheek, and took his seat next to Charlie. Mrs. Bucket informed us that the grandparents would be sleeping through breakfast, since they had apparently been up rather late the night before playing poker, so they could go ahead and eat. They all said grace, and then dug into the French toast.

Molly took two little pieces out of courtesy, but, after the first bite, she didn't care anymore, and took four more.

"Hungry, are we?" Charlie nudged her with his elbow.

She nodded, swallowing the huge bite she had just taken. "Yeah, that, and this is the most amazing French toast I have ever had in my life."

Mrs. Bucket smiled. "Why thank you, Molly. I worked all morning on that, so it had better be good."

"Mrs. Bucket, forgive me, but do you happen to have any bananas?" Willy suddenly appeared, leaning in the front door, as if not wanting to come in to ask his question. "I seem to be out, and I don't really have any time to send anyone to go out and get any…" Molly saw him glance at her and smirk a bit. Her hands instinctively went to her hair, trying to flatten it out as much as she could.

"Of course we have bananas, dear! How many do you need?"

"Umm…." Willy disappeared from the doorway for a second, and then reemerged. "Four?"

Mrs. Bucket went into the kitchen and took out their bananas, pulling four off of the large group. She walked over to the doorway and handed them to Willy, who looked elated.

"Oh, wonderful! Thank you so much! I owe you one, you know…"

She shook her head. "No, think of this as payback for me using your flour-."

He then shook his head. "There'll have to be a lot more bananas to make up for that…" She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw Willy wink at Mrs. Bucket, who proceeded to become preoccupied with a strand of her hair.

"You sure you don't want to stay for breakfast, Willy?" Charlie asked.

He nodded. "Too much to do today! Plus, one of these bananas is for me." He pointed to himself. "Portable fruit is a wonderful invention, don't you all think? Well, anyways, I must be off. Thank you very much, Mrs. Bucket." He tipped his hat at everyone. "Bye."

Molly smiled, and she could have sworn he smiled back at her. But, she hadn't even been awake for an hour, so she could have been seeing things.

After breakfast, Molly opted to help Mrs. Bucket with the dishes, but she turned her down, so she just followed Charlie up to his room, where he quickly combed his hair, ran into the bathroom, and came out completely changed.

"Thirty seconds." She said, looking at the watch he had given her. "Impressive."

"Why, thank you." He threw his brush on his bed. "I thought it was a good time."

"Do you always time yourself in the mornings?"

He shrugged. "Not normally. Just felt like it today." He poked her on the arm. "Hey, why don't you go and get lovely again yourself?"

Molly flipped her hair. "And I'm not lovely now?"

"No comment." Charlie said through a fit of giggles.

"Why you little-" She sprang up and started chasing Charlie around, running out of the house and into the chocolate room. They ran around for a while, the feeling of tension in her legs from not running going away again, and she felt herself picking up speed. Charlie was fast, she'd give him that. But he probably wasn't in track.

"Gotcha!" Molly said as she tackled him to the ground, both of them giggling madly. He pushed her off of him, and they both lay on their backs in the mint grass, staring at the ceiling and giggling.

"Well, that was spontaneous and fun," Molly said, looking over at Charlie, trying to regain her breath. "Caught you by surprise, didn't I?"

"Yeah," he said, also trying to catch his breath, "you did. Were you in track or something?"

"4 years. I still have a record at my old school."

"Which record?"

"Umm…honestly, I don't remember." She said, laughing at herself. "But I have one."

She saw Charlie grab a handful of the grass and stuff it all in his mouth. Molly did the same.

"Show me your tongue." Charlie said, leaning over towards her, sticking out his tongue, which was now a pale green color. She stuck hers out at him, and it was apparently the color he was going for. "Eew, now you have an infected mouth! Go brush your teeth!"

She pushed him over as she got up. "Whatever. Yours is infected too."

He shook his head as he stood up. "Nope. I just brushed my teeth, so I know it's because of the grass. Yours could be from anything."

She stuck her tongue out at him again (to which he responded with putting his fingers in an x formation and yelling "Back, back ye cursed thing!"), and then started to run back to her room to 'become lovely again.'

* * *

"…There…I think that's everything…" Molly said as she scanned the room. Charlie was sitting in the computer chair, looking around the room also.

"Yep…looks like it." She sat down on the bed and sighed. "This room is mine now. Every time I come over here, I'm staying in it. Mmkay?

"Sounds good to me."

"So, hey, I wanted to ask you…you and Willy…you guys good again?"

He nodded. "Yeah, we're good. He woke me up at, like…1 this morning, and we talked about it. Got it all straightened out." He paused. "Thanks for talking to him last night, though…he seemed more level headed."

"How'd you know I talked to him?"

Molly thought he looked at her like she was high. "Well…he kind of told me."

She smacked her hand against her forehead. "Oh, well that would make sense."

"Don't worry," he smirked, "we all have our stupid moments."

Molly reached for a pillow, but there weren't any; they were all over the floor. No paper either. "Oy, I don't have anything to throw at you!"

"…Did you just say 'oy'?"

"I did. Got a problem with my saying of the word oy?"

Charlie put his hands up. "Nope. Not a problem." He then spun around to the computer. "Now, before you leave…show me how to set up one of those fancy screen names."

She sat up. "You've never done that before?"

"Nope. I'm completely computer illiterate. Except for solitaire, I can't do much."

Molly dramatically sighed. "All right, I guess I could…you need to get up out of the chair first, though."

He got up, and she took the seat. "Okay, now first, what do you want it to be?"

"…Something…fuzzy."

"…Fuzzy?"

Charlie nodded. "Yeah. Fuzzy. Like…fuzzy kid or something."

"Fuzzinator."

He started cracking up. "Fuzzinator…do it."

"You want it to be Fuzzinator then?"

Charlie nodded. "Yep. That's perfect."

"Okay, Fuzzinator it is."

* * *

Molly went home shortly after, and immediately crashed. She slept for about 3 hours, but, after opening her eyes a crack to see what time it was, she decided to get up and go be social with her family.

"Hello lovely," Jeff greeted her as she walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch. Sherri was sitting on his knee, and she waved to Molly, making a few gurgling sounds as she did.

"Hello, you two."

"Did you have fun while you were out?"

Molly nodded. "Yeah…it was a lot of fun. I'll have to bring Charlie over here sometime, if he can ever get away from the factory." She sighed and stretched her arms out.

"It looked like you crashed when you got home, so I figured just as much."

"Hmmm." Molly looked around. "Hey, where's Miranda?"

"Oh, she just went to get some milk, since we ran out this morning. She should be back soon."

"Sounds good. I'm gonna go scrounge in the fridge, k?" Molly got up and went in the kitchen. Opening the fridge door, she saw that there were a few slices of pizza in a Tupperware container. "Hey Jeff, anyone gonna eat the pizza?"

"Nope, go ahead and take it." He said. She could then hear announcers shouting about the last goal.

'Ah, football.' She plopped the pizza in the microwave. When it was done, she took the plate out and sat next to Jeff and Sherri. Jeff was totally entranced in the game already, so Sherri came over and snuggled up against Molly's side, almost instantly falling asleep. Molly ate her pizza, watching the football game (and inwardly laughing at Jeff's ridiculousness), and stroking Sherri's dark hair, since that made her stay asleep.

Miranda came home about twenty minutes later, carrying in the milk and a few other bags. She started to say something, but saw that both Molly and Sherri had fallen asleep on the couch, with Jeff still absorbed in the game. She set everything on the kitchen table, kissed the heads of the girls, then kissed her husband, who didn't even take his eyes off of the game to look at her. She rolled her eyes and unpacked the groceries.

_Fuzzinator is now available_.

"Oh, Charlie! Wonderful!" Molly said to herself as she got the IM screen up. She had just signed in to the internet and put Charlie on her buddy list. No one else was online, so she was happy to see that she could talk to someone.

Faded Galaxia: Well, if it isn't the fuzzinator!

She expected an immediate response, but didn't get one.

Faded Galaxia: Umm…  
Faded Galaxia: ...  
Faded Galaxia: Charlie?

Nothing.

Faded Galaxia: Chaaaarlie?  
Faded Galaxia: Yoo hoo?

Still nothing. 'Ah, he's probably figuring out where the h key is or something…' She minimized the screen and went to check her email, which took a few minutes, since she hadn't been able to sit down at her computer for a few weeks and go through it all.

Four minutes went by, and still nothing. Molly sighed.

Faded Galaxia: ….hello?

Pause. Then:

Fuzzinator: …hello  
Faded Galaxia: Oh, well hello there! I've been trying to get your attention for about 5 minutes now!

Another pause.

Faded Galaxia: …You still there?  
Faded Galaxia: Charlie?

More of a pause.

Fuzzinator: who is this?  
Faded Galaxia: …umm…who is this?  
Fuzzinator: you answer first.

Molly thought this was a bit weird, seeing as she had given Charlie her screen name, and that she was the only one on his buddy list. 'Oh, maybe he's messing with my mind,' she thought as she typed out her response, 'I can play along.'

Faded Galaxia: Hmm…well…according to you, I have an infected tongue…  
Fuzzinator: …who is this?  
Faded Galaxia: …this isn't Charlie, is it?  
Fuzzinator: not at the moment, no.  
Faded Galaxia: Not at the moment…so he is there.  
Fuzzinator: somewhere around here, yeah.  
Faded Galaxia: Then who am I speaking to?  
Fuzzinator: still can't tell you.  
Faded Galaxia: Why?  
Fuzzinator: cuz i still don't know who you are.

'Grr, either it's not him, or he's seriously trying to piss me off…'

Faded Galaxia: Fine. This is Molly.

Pause.

Fuzzinator: …Hat girl?  
Faded Galaxia: …whaa?  
Fuzzinator: Are you hat girl?  
Faded Galaxia: WTF is hat girl?  
Fuzzinator: i dunno…there's a girl that Charlie knows that always wears a hat named molly. wasn't sure if that was you or if you were a different molly.

Light bulb. 'Hat girl…OMG, it's Willy!"

Faded Galaxia: For the last time, Willy, it's a BERET, and yes, I would be hat girl.  
Fuzzinator: how did you know it was me?  
Faded Galaxia: Well…you are the only person who has ever called me hat girl.  
Fuzzinator: oh. i figured that would be a common nickname for you, since you wear that hat…_beret_, sorry, everywhere  
Faded Galaxia: Nope. Just you. So, anyways, why are you terrorizing me tonight?  
Fuzzinator: umm…  
Fuzzinator: what do you mean?  
Faded Galaxia: Why are you on Charlie's screen name, and not Charlie?  
Fuzzinator: oh, is that what this is? i just came in here to see what was beeping. didn't realize that it would make me talk to you.

Pause. Molly didn't like that last comment. She had hoped that he wasn't going back to not liking her. She wanted to stay on his good side.

Fuzzinator: not that i mind, though.

She smiled to herself. Still on his good side.

Faded Galaxia: Well, I don't mind talking to you, either…it's just that I thought I'd be talking to Charlie is all.  
Faded Galaxia: Where is he, anyways?  
Fuzzinator: reading, i think. last i knew, he was reading.  
Faded Galaxia: Still Wuthering Heights?  
Fuzzinator: i think so. hey, can i have one of these doohickeys? this is kinda neat.  
Faded Galaxia: …You want a screen name?  
Fuzzinator: sure, if that's what it's called.  
Faded Galaxia: That is what it's called. I can make you one, if you want.  
Fuzzinator: umm…ok.  
Faded Galaxia: Okay, it has to be 15 letters or less. What do you want it to be?  
Fuzzinator: …dancing banana.

Molly paused, then started laughing.

Faded Galaxia: …dancing banana?  
Fuzzinator: yes. dancing banana.  
Faded Galaxia: …Are you sure? Nothing about chocolate or candy or anything?  
Fuzzinator: nope. dancing banana.  
Faded Galaxia: All righty then. dancing banana it is. I'll set it up for you.  
Fuzzinator: ok.

She pulled up the website, and started looking through the information. Only email address and password was required.

Faded Galaxia: What do you want your password to be?  
Fuzzinator: loompa.  
Faded Galaxia: …Okay.

She signed it up under her email address, putting 'loompa' in as the password. She then waited a few seconds, then checked her email. She opened up the confirmation email, and it said it worked.

Faded Galaxia: Fantastic. You now have your own screen name.  
Fuzzinator: snazzy. now how do i get on it?  
Faded Galaxia: Okay, at the top of the screen, click file – sign out. Then put in your screen name (dancing banana) and your password (loompa). It'll sign you in then.  
Fuzzinator. Ok.

_Fuzzinator has signed off._

dancing banana: hey, did i do it right?  
Faded Galaxia: Yes you did. Welcome back, Willy.  
dancing banana: sweet. thank you.  
Faded Galaxia: No problem. So this was beeping at you earlier, then, right?  
dancing banana: mmmhmmm. i was just walking by, and i heard a beep, so i went to check it out.  
dancing banana: oh, hold on a second.  
dancing banana: There we go.  
Faded Galaxia: …whaa?  
dancing banana: I had to stop and think about how to type with capital letters at the beginning of sentences. I got it now.  
Faded Galaxia: …Wow.  
dancing banana: Yep. So, did you have any trouble getting home? What, with the snow and all.  
Faded Galaxia: No, not really. The cab driver I had was really cautious about what he was doing. Didn't take long at all.  
dancing banana: Good to hear. Charlie didn't tell me when you left, otherwise I would have let you ride in the limo.  
Faded Galaxia: Oh, really?  
dancing banana: Mmmhmm. I wouldn't want anyone dying, now would I?  
Faded Galaxia: Well, I'm glad to hear that you wouldn't want me to die. And, I'll keep the limo in mind for the next time I'm over.  
dancing banana: …Also keep in mind that that offer is only open when the roads are bad. I don't like people seeing my limo all over the place.  
Faded Galaxia: No one can tell it's yours though. It doesn't say Wonka anywhere on it.  
dancing banana: …true, but who else would own a limo?  
Faded Galaxia: I don't know…maybe the Queen is out.  
dancing banana: …True.  
Faded Galaxia: Haha, I stumped you! Now you have to let me use your limo when I come over!  
dancing banana: …  
dancing banana: Fine, fine. You can use it. Now, I have to go and get the things from the kitchen that I was on my way to get before you distracted me.  
Faded Galaxia: Wonderful. And hey, have you ever thought of putting the kitchen closer to your laboratory or wherever you do all of your candy making?  
dancing banana: Yes, I have, but it would make all of my rooms shift over one, and I'd have to get a whole different button for my elevator. It's just too complicated.  
Faded Galaxia: …Sure. Go work on your stuff.  
dancing banana: Fantastic. Wonderful talking to you, Molly, but I must be off. Good night.

_dancing banana_ _has signed off._

Molly sat back in her chair and sighed. Willy now had a screen name, so she could talk to him whenever she wanted to.

…Well, if he ever used it, anyways. Which she hoped he did. She really hoped he did.

She felt her cheeks getting warm just thinking about it. About him.

Molly signed off the internet, shaking her head, thinking how ridiculous it was that she had a crush on Willy Wonka…but enjoying it all the same.

**A/N: …Yeah, so that's kind of a filler chapter. Nothing much there, just Willy getting a screen name. I'll try and get this more structured, and get the next chappie up ASAP.**

**Stay tuned!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Heh…heh…heh…yeah, so, umm….yeah. Sorry for the absence. I know it's been ages. I'm almost done with my Harry Potter story, so I figured I'd return to one of my other ones…and, quite frankly, I like this one better than my SW story (which has been dead for eternity! w00t). **

**Hope you all enjoy! ^_^**

**Chapter 9  
**

The snow continued to fall through the first few weeks of December. The last day of the school year before they were let out for Christmas break saw a record snowfall. Because of this, the school closed down at about noon. As she was gathering her things to leave, Molly felt something hit her arm. Looking down, she saw a paper wad by her feet.

'Geez,' she thought to herself, picking it up and un-crumpling it.

_What are you doing this afternoon?_

"Charlie?" she said, looking around her. She spotted him a few lockers down, trying to look as inconspicuous as he could. Molly walked over to him, crumpling the note up as she went.

"Nothing, I was just going to go home." The paper wad quickly made contact with Charlie's nose. "Why, do I have plans now?"

He nodded. "Yep. You're coming over today. My parents want to see you before we all take off."

"Take off?" Molly grabbed her beret out of her bag and put it on, walking towards the door as she did so. "Where are you going?"

Charlie stopped. "Wait…I didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

Molly heard him say 'shit' under his breath. "What's wrong?"

"Yeah…" He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, looking down at the ground. "I'm kind of going to be gone until…umm…February."

"FEBRUARY?" People turned to look. Molly grabbed Charlie by the sleeve and dragged him into the B hall, which was practically empty. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow…"

"TOMORROW? AND YOU WERE PLANNING ON TELLING ME THIS WHEN?"

Charlie put his hands up in defense. "Hey, don't look at me. I didn't think we were leaving until January. Willy just informed me last week that we'd be gone by the end of the week."

"Are you serious?" Molly wasn't mad at Charlie anymore; it transferred over to Willy. She couldn't believe that he wouldn't give them more notice as to when they were going to…to…

"Where are you going, anyways?"

A smile played on Charlie's lips. "Loompaland."

"What are you, like, an ambassador?"

"In training, yeah."

Molly shook her head. "So, I'm not going to see anyone over break?"

"Oh, no," he shook his head. "Willy will still be here."

Molly felt her eyes get huge. "You're going there…and he's not?"

"Come on, let's walk. I'm sure the driver's outside." Charlie looped his arm in Molly's and led her down the hall. They were quiet until they got in the limo.

"Isn't it against child labor laws to send a minor to do work by themselves? Or something?"

"My parents are going, remember? Besides, it's not my first time going there." He paused. "First time going without Willy, yes, but not my first time going there."

"I still don't like the way it sounds." Molly sighed. "And I don't like that you're going to be gone for Christmas."

"Trust me, I don't like it either. I'd rather be here, hanging out with humans." Charlie laughed at himself. Molly gave him a look, and they both started giggling.

"You're a dork," she said as she pushed his head with her hand.

"You would know."

"Don't start with me, Bucket! I'll kill you!" Molly started tickling Charlie, who bravely and boldly started tickling back. Before they knew it, the limo had stopped; the back door was open, and a bespeckled Willy Wonka was looking in, raising an eyebrow.

"Enjoying yourselves?"

Molly was already pretty red in the face from laughing, but all of the blood in her body rushed up to her cheeks. The two of them quickly separated, both clearing their throats awkwardly. Charlie looked absolutely mortified.

"Molly attacked me with tickles and-"

"Things just went from there. Didn't they, lover?" Molly started snuggling up to Charlie, who pushed her to the other side of the limo, saying, "Gross!" as he did.

Willy's face seemed to fall a bit, but picked back up after Charlie said Molly was gross. Molly wasn't sure what that meant…but turned even redder all the same. "Well, Charlie, your mom has been freaking out all day about you coming home in the snow, so I suggest that you get in there and make her stop. It's getting annoying."

Charlie sighed and climbed out of the limo, practically running towards the door. Willy looked after him for a minute, and then turned back to Molly. He extended a hand. "Miss?"

Molly's head started to swim. 'This crush isn't good,' she thought as she looked at his face. Since he was wearing his Fly sunglasses, she couldn't see his eyes. All she could see was his smirk.

'It's like he's toying with me…' She put her hand in his. He flinched a little when their hands met, but seemed to shake it off as he gently pulled her out of the limo. They looked at each other for a moment, hand in hand, before Willy coughed, dropped her hand, and shut the limo door, hitting it on the top twice.

"Yeah, umm…let's…uhh…" He tipped his hat down and sped into the building. Molly watched him go for a minute, and then took off after him, her cheeks glowing so brightly she could have sworn they were turning the walls red.

* * *

"Are you going to see me off in 6 hours?" Charlie asked Molly while they were in her room. They were lying on their stomachs, kicking their feet in the air and hitting each other's feet occasionally. Molly really enjoyed their playful relationship – it reminded her a lot of how her and Miranda were when they were younger.

Molly looked at the clock, and then looked at Charlie. "Uhh…hell no. I'm going to be asleep."

He pouted. "Please?"

Molly threw a pillow at him. "No way! You know how I am when I sleep. I don't get up at 2 am unless I absolutely have to."

"I say you have to." He started batting his eyelashes. "Please? It would make my parents happy. And you could go to sleep right after, I promise."

'That face…his puppy dog face…must…resist…can't…give…in…'

"All right, fine! I'll see you off." She flipped over on her back, pointing a finger in Charlie's face. "But you owe me. Big time."

"Trust me, I know." He rolled off the bed and stretched. "Well, I'm going to go get some sleep. Long day tomorrow." He looked over at Molly. "Are you going to sleep?"

Molly hung her head over the side of the bed so that Charlie was upside down. "Nah, probably not. It would be better if I stayed awake. I get sick if I get less than 8 hours of sleep."

"Well, that's no good." He walked over and gave her a big hug. "See you in 6 hours, then."

"All right. Night, Charlie."

"Night." Charlie closed the door as he left, leaving Molly in the room by herself. She got up and went over to the computer, sitting down and staring at the blank screen, wishing her mind could be just as blank.

* * *

Mrs. Bucket had prepared a wonderful dinner that evening; there had been turkey, an assortment of veggies and fruits, rolls, and a wonderful pasta salad, complete with the biggest pumpkin pie Molly had ever laid eyes on.

Needless to say, she stuffed herself like a pig. Mrs. Bucket really made the best food on the planet, and it was much better than the random things that Miranda or Jeff attempted to cook. Mrs. Bucket's food actually made sense.

Through either chance or planning (she wasn't sure which at that point), Molly and Willy ended up sitting across the table from one another. To her dismay, he practically avoided looking at her the whole time. There was only one time that their eyes met, and, when that happened, he looked down immediately and started gingerly cutting a pea apart. After everyone had finished his or her pie, he quietly excused himself, saying he had "something to attend to".

'I really don't like this,' she said to herself aloud as she turned the computer on. 'I feel like I did something…but I know I didn't.' She shook her head. 'God, Molly, you're so paranoid. He's eccentric. You know that. He could have had a flashback or something. Settle. You didn't do anything."

dancing banana: Hi.

"Eep!" Molly practically fell off of her chair.

dancing banana: Did I surprise you? That squeal was kind of loud.

"What the fuck…" she started looking around, but came up with nothing.

dancing banana: Tsk, tsk. Swearing is bad.

"Where are you?"

dancing banana: Nope – gotta type.

She sighed. 'Fine.'

Faded Galaxia: Fine. Where are you?  
dancing banana: Well, wouldn't you like to know.  
Faded Galaxia: Willy! This is weird!  
dancing banana: You said it yourself that I was eccentric.  
Faded Galaxia: …Are you a mind reader or something?  
dancing banana: No. I just tend to be in the right place at the right time. You were talking to yourself, and I heard you. Simple enough.  
Faded Galaxia: Where are you?  
dancing banana: Like I said, wouldn't you like to know. :)  
Faded Galaxia: OMG.  
dancing banana: By the way, you didn't do anything. I was just in a weird mood tonight, that's all. So don't think that way.

Molly smiled. If she had known where he was, she would have given him a great big hug. She had hated to think that something had been wrong between the two of them.

'God, I sound like we're a couple or something…' Her mind drifted off at that thought, thinking about the two of them being married, chasing each other through the factory, her toppling him, laughing, kissing…

dancing banana: …You alive?  
Faded Galaxia: Yeah, I'm all right. Just had a flashback.  
dancing banana: You really should lay off the acid. Anywho, do you know where I am yet?  
Faded Galaxia: I have no idea. And how did you know about the acid?  
dancing banana: Charlie. :)  
Faded Galaxia: Wow. He really needs to stop telling you everything.  
dancing banana: He doesn't tell me everything, I assure you. GUESS WHERE I AM.  
Faded Galaxia: All right, all right! Fine!  
Faded Galaxia: Are you…  
Faded Galaxia: *drumroll*  
Faded Galaxia: In the vent system?  
dancing banana: No, silly.  
Faded Galaxia: In the ceiling?  
dancing banana: Nope.  
Faded Galaxia: In the next room over?  
dancing banana: …Getting warmer.

Molly's head jerked up as she heard a sneeze. She bolted out of the room and ran down the hall towards the next room.

"Aha!" She said, flinging the door open.

"Yay, you found me!" Willy exclaimed, clapping his gloved hands together, his eyes positively glittering. "That took you a lot longer than I had expected."

"Well, I didn't even know anyone else was on this floor until you sneezed."

Willy sniffed, rubbing the sides of his nose with his fingers. "Yeah, I think I'm getting some sort of cold."

"Well, that's never good. Do you get sick often?"

He sniffed again. "No. This is probably the first time in 4 years. It always happens when new people come into my factory."

She put her hands up. "I'm sorry! I never meant to get you sick or anything like that."

"Why do you think everything's your fault?" Willy spoke, at least three notches quieter than normal volume. A look came over his face that really surprised Molly; it was a look of hurt. It almost looked like he was a little puppy who had just been kicked. Tears started to sting at her eyes.

"I didn't…I'm sorry?"

He sighed, pinching the space between his eyes with his fingers. "Never mind." He shook his head, and then looked up. His entire attitude has changed, and he seemed to be back to regular, old Willy. "All right, well, I've got to go hunt down some cold medicine, so I will see you later. Good night." And, with that, he sped past her and went down the hallway.

Molly scurried back in her room and proceeded to pull her hair out.

* * *

"You've got a phone call…you've got a phone call…you've got a phone – ANSWER IT!"

"Mmmmuhh…." Molly knocked a few things off of the nightstand before finding her phone and answering it. "Hello?" She said, getting the hair out of her face.

"Hey, honey, where are you?" Miranda was on the other line, sounding really worried.

"I'm at Charlie's. Why? Is everything okay?"

"Jesus, Molly! You had me scared half to death! Look outside."

Molly groaned a little bit as she walked over to the window. Parting the curtains, she saw that the snow was coming down like someone was pouring powdered sugar all over the city. She smirked when an image of Willy doing just that popped in her head.

"Wow, it's really coming down!"

"Yes, it is! I didn't know if you were coming home or not…you're all right, though?"

Molly nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. What time is it, anyways?"

"Two in the morning." Miranda sighed. "God, I'm so relieved that you're okay. I could just see you being stuck in the snow or something."

"It's two in the morning?" Molly looked over at the clock to confirm. Yep, it was two. The alarm she had set hadn't gone off. Charlie was leaving in fifteen minutes.

"Moll, I know it's early and all, but-"

"No! Charlie's leaving! I've got to go. Sorry. Love you!"

"Wait, what?" Molly hung up the phone and practically threw it on the bed. She grabbed her beret and piled all of her hair into it, leaving only a few strands loose. Pulling on a hoodie she had stuffed in her backpack the day before, she bolted down the hallway towards the entrance.

"CRAAAAP!" If she didn't pick it up, they were going to leave before she got to see them. "GODDAMNIT, WILLY WONKA, WHY IS THIS FACTORY SO FUCKING HUGE?" Closing her eyes, she tapped into something she hadn't touched in years – her inner chi.

…At least, that's what her track coach used to tell her team it was. It was that part of her that could make her push herself to her limits in order to win.

Or, in this case, to run across the biggest factory in the world in record time to see her friend and his family off before they left for Loompaland.

'Wow, that makes my life sound wonderfully interesting.' Closing her eyes, she took a few deep breaths and dug down deep. As she ran, her mind began to hum with the sounds of her coach and teammates cheering her on.

_The finish line was just ahead, a few steps away. Molly knew she was first; she had run faster and harder than she had in her entire life. This race wasn't just a race to her – it was her chance. She had been hoping for this moment for years, and now it was finally here. _

_ This was her chance to show him that she really was worth something. All she wanted was for him to see that she could do something worthy of praise. _

_ As she crossed the finish line, the referee blew his whistle, and the small crowd began to cheer. Molly was immediately smothered by Marie, her oldest sister. "You're a bullet! A speeding bullet! That was amazing!"_

_ "Thanks," Molly managed to choke out as she looked around for her parents, but her eyes met those of her coach first. He was beaming from ear to ear._

_ "Molly, my dear, according to my watch, you just broke a record that's been in place for 20 years! Congratulations!" He patted her on the shoulder, since she wasn't able to escape from Marie's grasp, and gave her two huge thumbs up._

_ "Good job, Molly," her mother said, a big smile on her face. "I'm so proud of you!"_

_ Molly began to glow with pride. Her mom was even proud of her. If her perfect sister and her crazy mother were happy, then maybe…just maybe…_

_ Her smile faded as their eyes met. She had always been glad that she hadn't inherited those cold, dark eyes of his. 'Actually,' she thought, trying not to show the fear that was increasingly building up inside of her, 'the only other place I've seen eyes like that were Charlie Manson…'_

_ "So, you broke a record, did you?" Her father spoke with a snarl._

"Whoa, Nelly! Slow down!" Molly almost fell backwards as strong hands grabbed her arms. As her inner chi went back to being locked up, her eyes cleared, and she saw violet ones staring back at her. "Are you racing after a cheetah or something?"

"Sorry," she said, panting slightly. "I was trying to make it outside before Charlie left."

Willy stared at her for a minute, a smile tugging at his lips. "Oh, Charlie? He was actually headed to go wake you up."

"Damnit!" Molly turned around to take off in the direction she came, but Willy was still holding onto her.

"Slow down, there's no rush. Geez, are you always this jumpy in the mornings?"

"Only when it concerns not seeing my best friend for two whole months," she replied, a bite to her words. The image of her father's eyes was still in the forefront of her mind, making her rather irritable.

"He's not going to leave without seeing you, so don't worry." Willy said, walking in front of her down the hall. Molly noticed that, even at two in the morning, he was dressed to the nines. She wondered if he had even gone to sleep at all.

"Good to hear," Molly said, catching up to him, still trying to completely catch her breath. They were silent for most of the walk, until Willy randomly giggled.

"What?"

He looked over at her, eyes sparkling with glee. "Oh, nothing. I was just imagining you tripping over the carpet in these halls. They're not very secure, you know."

Molly cracked a smile and gently punched the side of Willy's arm in protest. He punched her back even softer, like he was afraid of breaking her arm. She felt her cheeks get a little warm, but couldn't resist punching him yet again. They continued their fake fight all the way outside. Once they got in the view of the Buckets, however, Willy immediately stopped, cleared his throat, and walked towards them, hanging onto his hat in the biting wind.

"There you are!" Charlie exclaimed as he all but suffocated Molly in a bear hug. "I couldn't find you, and I was all worried you were lost or something."

"I almost did get lost, and it's all your fault," Molly said, trying to wriggle out of Charlie's grasp. He squeezed her even tighter, obviously fighting back.

"I'm not letting you go that easily!"

"Charlie," Willy started, clearing his throat again, "you guys are going to need to skedaddle soon if you want to get to Loompaland on time. The king can get pretty feisty if you're late." His eyes glossed over, and he visibly shuddered.

'Flashback,' Molly thought. She smiled to herself, and then wrestled out of Charlie's grasp. "See, you did let me go fairly easily."

"Yeah, well, that's only because the boss told me to," he said under his breath. "I really don't want to do this."

She put her hand on his shoulder. "You'll do fine, Charlie. Don't worry. I have faith in you."

He smiled, causing Molly to smile also. "Thanks. That really means a lot."

She nodded. Willy started humming the _Jeopardy! _Theme song behind her. They both rolled their eyes. Charlie pointed in his direction. "That's my cue, I guess." He pulled her in for another hug. "Don't miss me too much."

"Same goes for you, honey. Love you."

"Love you, too." He waved a goodbye to Willy, who tipped his hat at him and his family. They all piled into the seemingly weather-resistant limo and sped off in a spray of snow.

Molly turned back around to see Willy staring directly at her with a quizzical expression on his face. It was one of those moments that made Molly wish she could read minds. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing." He turned around and walked back into the factory, noticeably slower than usual. Molly waited until she was sure he was in the elevator before she went back inside and up to her room.

**A/N: Yeah, it's been a while. You all love me, though, so it's ok. ^_^ Be sure to check out my Harry Potter story, Mixed Emotions, if you're a Harry Potter fan. It's actually finished (see? I do finish my stories…eventually!)**

**I bought a pair of sunglasses that look like Willy's, so they gave me a little extra inspiration.**

**The next couple of chapters are going to be cute and sad, all at the same time. Stay tuned! I will get them done! ^_^**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Aha! It's time for a new chapter! Who knows how long this one will take me…but I'll get it down, I swear. I love this story too much.**

**Chapter 10**

*beep*

Molly looked up from her copy of _Jane Eyre_ that she had to read over winter break. An IM screen had popped up on her computer screen. Putting down her book, she trudged over to the computer to check it out.

dancing banana: I'm bored.

Molly smiled to herself. Cracking her knuckles, she started to formulate some sort of witty comeback to the chocolatier's statement.

Faded Galaxia: Well, maybe you shouldn't have shipped Charlie out. He would have kept you company.

Zing.

There was a pause. Molly started to wonder if Willy had gotten offline after her comment.

dancing banana: Touché.  
Faded Galaxia: Serves you right.  
dancing banana: Well, for him to be 'the next Willy Wonka', he needs to go do that stuff by himself…he's gone on enough expeditions with me. Besides, he has a way of getting a hold of me if things go wrong.  
dancing banana: And ZIP! I'll be there.  
dancing banana: So no worries.  
dancing banana: :)

Pause.

dancing banana: So…I'm bored.

Molly smirked. He was so obvious.

Faded Galaxia: What do you want me to do about it?  
dancing banana: Well…are you bored, too?  
Faded Galaxia: Uhh…

Molly looked at her _Jane Eyre_ book, and then back at the screen.

Faded Galaxia: A little. I'm reading _Jane Eyre_, and it's good, but I don't feel like reading today.  
dancing banana: Ok. We're both bored. What do people do when they're bored?

Another smirk. Obvious.

Faded Galaxia: Uhh….I don't know, what?  
dancing banana: They hang out, silly! You should come over.  
Faded Galaxia: …it's snowing. Really hard.  
dancing banana: *sigh*  
dancing banana: Well, fine. I'll come get you.  
Faded Galaxia: You're going to bring the limo out here?  
dancing banana: My goodness, your beret must suck the brains from your head.  
dancing banana: No, I'm going to drive my car.  
Faded Galaxia: ….You have a car?  
dancing banana: You'll see.  
dancing banana: :)

_dancing banana has signed off._

"Shit!" Molly jumped up from the chair, grabbed her book, and ran into her room. She scoured her closet, looking for something cute to wear. When she didn't find anything, she ran into Miranda's room and went through her closet.

"Uhh, Molly?" She turned around to see Miranda sitting on her bed, Sherri in her lap, giving Molly a quizzical look. "What are you doing?"

"Oh my God, sorry!" She jumped over to Miranda, gave her a hug, and patted Sherri on the head. Then, quicker than she had jumped over to them, she ran back to the closet and started throwing cute shirts on the floor. "I need something cute to wear."

"What you're wearing is cute." And it was – she was wearing her Smithereens t-shirt, dark blue flare jeans, and her trademark beret. But Willy was coming to see her. Her. Just her. No one else. She needed to look her best.

"Besides, what do you need it for?"

'Shit. Make something up.'

"Uhh…my friend Eric is coming to get me. I really like him. I want to impress him." Good cover. Molly pulled out a flowy emerald green top and put it up to her torso. It went well with her dark blue jeans. "Can I borrow this?"

Miranda shook her head and waved her hand nonchalantly. "Yeah, whatever. Just don't ruin it."

"Eee! Thank you!" Molly gave Miranda another hug and bolted to her room, quickly putting the shirt on. Upon looking at herself in the mirror, she found that it did wonders for her. Not only did it make her look more dressed up, it brought out the red in her hair and the green in her eyes. It was also flattering in such a way that it made her look like she had a butt. 'Yes,' she thought, turning around, looking at herself. 'This is perfect.'

*beep*

"Eee!" Molly ran back into her room and checked the computer screen.

dancing banana: I'm here. Come outside.  
Faded Galaxia: How are you IMming me in your car?  
dancing banana: Cell phone. Duh.  
dancing banana: Grab your coat, it's cold and snowy.

"Okay, I'm going out! Be back later!" Molly grabbed her uniform coat (it was so warm, it seemed like the perfect choice) and bolted out the door. She stopped on the threshold, though, because she didn't see his car. All she saw was a station wagon that her and her sister would affectionately call a "Woody" – it was one of those white ones with the faux wood paneling on the side. It was only after further inspection up and down the road that she realized that that station wagon was the only one on the road.

"What the hell…" She cautiously walked up to it, holding her beret on her head so that the wind wouldn't take it away. Leaning down, she looked in the window…only to see Willy Wonka giving her a toothy grin. He excitedly motioned for her to come in the car. Molly smiled, shaking her head.

"This looks like something I'd get for my first car," she said, sliding in on the leather seats, kicking the snow off her boots as she did.

"This was my first car," he said casually, adjusting his mirror. "I've just taken really good care of it. 160,000 kilometers on it, and it still runs like a dream." He shifted the car in drive and started to drive off. "So, aren't you going to ask me how I knew where you live?"

"Uhh, no, I wasn't planning on it, but I'll humor you. How'd you know?"

"Charlie." He smiled slyly. "He told me the general area. I figured it out by the Brighton Academy sign in the window." Molly turned around and looked. Sure enough, there was a sign for her wonderful school in the window that she had never noticed.

"Huh. I never noticed that."

"Well, anyways, it kind of surprised me that you lived all the way out here, and yet you're over at my factory all the time. You practically live _there_ instead of here anymore."

"I like it better in the factory." Molly put her hands behind her head, closing her eyes, trying to keep back her blush. "It's a lot more fun than my actual life."

"Yeah, life is better in there…I've forgotten how dumb people are when they drive. It's been a while."

"Your license is valid, right?"

"Of course!" A billfold appeared out of nowhere and hit Molly in the nose. "See? Look for yourself." Sure enough, Willy's driver's license was valid. Strangely, though, that was the only thing in it.

"I don't like to carry anything else around with me- OH COME ON!" Willy hit the steering wheel in frustration. The visibility was rather low, and a car had just cut in front of them, hitting its brakes and almost causing a crash. "Stupid jackass…sorry," he looked over at Molly, who was wide-eyed with amazement at hearing Willy yell and swear like that, "I get a little road rage."

"I can see that." She handed him his billfold back, with which he stuffed back in his jeans- JEANS? – pocket. Upon further inspection, she discovered that he was actually dressed in regular people clothing – a long sleeved, deep purple t-shirt, light colored jeans, and a pair of black boots. The only thing unusual looking about him was his silly haircut and those latex gloves on his hands.

"You're wearing regular clothes."

"Gotta be inconspicuous when I'm on the road. Can you imagine someone seeing me in how I normally dress driving around? It would cause so many accidents. Plus, my hat is too big for the roof of the car."

"True. I never thought of that." Molly looked out her passenger side window at the countryside. It reminded her of the day on the train…only everything was white instead of wet. Her hand involuntarily flew up to the scar on the top of her head. She started to rub it.

"You okay?"

"What?" Molly realized what she was doing, and quickly stopped. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." She noticed he tensed up when their eyes met that time. "Are you okay?"

He took a deep breath. "Can I ask you something?"

Her heart fluttered. "Yeah, sure. Anything."

"Do you…" he looked both ways as he turned left. "Do you think this is…you know…weird?"

"I don't follow."

He sighed. "Well, you know…I'm old…you're…well…not old…"

"You're not old."

Willy laughed rather loudly. "You're funny. I am too old."

"No, you're not. And no, I don't think it's weird." To be truthful, she hadn't really thought about it. It was quite obvious to her that she had a huge thing for him, but his age hadn't really come into play in her mind. He couldn't be more than 10 years older than her…could he?

"How old are you, anyways?"

Willy parked the car in a garage behind the factory, shut the car off, and turned to her, a smile creeping up on his face. "Do you really want to know?"

Molly nodded.

"37." He unbuckled his seat belt and quickly got out of the car.

Molly sat there in shock. 37? 37?

'Shit. He is kind of old.'

* * *

"You _are _fast," Willy said as he collapsed on the mint grass in the huge candy room. With one arm stretched over his torso, he wiped his forehead with the other one, careful to avoid his latex-covered hand. Molly stood over him, hands on her hips, a huge grin on her face.

"I told you!" She sat down next to him, facing the chocolate river. "You just didn't believe me."

"You have to be the fastest girl alive."

"I did break a record," Molly laid down with her hands behind her head. "That wasn't even me trying. You're out of shape."

"It's all the candy." Willy giggled, rolling over on his side to face Molly. Just looking in his violet eyes made Molly melt like chocolate on a sunny day. 'God,' she thought, 'now I'm thinking in candy metaphors.'

"Do you actually eat your candy?"

Willy gave her a quizzical look. "Well, of course I do. I make it, don't I? Candy's my thing. I enjoy it. So yeah, I eat it." He yanked out a piece of grass and stuck it in his mouth. "See? I eat it."

"Cool," She replied, closing her eyes. The grass made the air smell like mint, but their was a faint scent of chocolate and peanuts near her. That was him, no doubt. Molly's mind began to tick…

'Oh my God, I'm seriously in love with him.'

There was no denying it. She knew it was true. She was noticing all the little things about him…like the way the right side of his mouth always smiled wider than his left…the way his eyes twinkled when he was thinking of something clever…and the way he lightly blushed every time he saw her.

Wait…could that mean…

She opened her eyes and looked to her side. Willy had gotten up and was now standing by the chocolate river, no doubt bored since she stopped talking. Even with how much older he was, he still had the attention span of a 7 year old boy. Smiling to herself, she got up and walked over to him, hesitating slightly before making a move and putting her hand on his shoulder. He flinched, but only out of surprise – she could tell because he smiled when he realized who it was.

"Everything okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine. I just got bored."

She laughed. "That's what I thought. I could chase you again."

'Oh God…those eyes…don't blush…don't blush…don't…shit, too late. God. Why is he so dang pretty?'

"No, that's all right." He stretched. "I'm getting too old for that."

"You're still not old, you know."

"Yes, I am."

"No, you're not."

He pointed to his head. "I have gray hair. I'm old."

They stood there, looking at the river for almost a minute before Willy suddenly touched Molly's arm. "Tag! You're it!" He took off through the room and down the hallway.

"Get back here, Wonka! I'll kill you!"

* * *

And here, dear Reader, is where we come upon the 'happy fun time montage'. You know how they do it in movies – they show the good times between two or more people. Well, Willy and Molly's good times went on through Christmas and into the New Year. The entire time, Molly told Miranda that she was hanging out with Eric. And, the whole time, Molly fell deeper and deeper in love with the chocolatier.

The only issue she had was finding something to get him for Christmas. She did have a brilliant idea, though - she had had her camera in her bag one day, and, while she was out taking pictures of the flowers outside of the factory, Willy came up behind her and poked her. She quickly snapped a picture of the two of them, much to his dismay (and secret liking, she hoped). She bought a blank frame from the local drug store and made a cutesy kindergarten-like frame for the picture (complete with glitter and glued-on sequins), and gave that to him as his present. He seemed incredibly happy with it, which made Molly turn as red as a tomato. He got her a gorgeous - and obviously expensive - necklace with a small emerald pendant. She never took it off from that day forward.

Towards the end of her vacation, they spent nearly every day together. Miranda made her stay home for New Year's, saying with a crazy motherly voice that she was 'spending too much time with that Eric boy', and asking when she was going to meet him. Molly just smiled and said, "Eventually," which made her sister throw a pillow at her.

The last day of her vacation was a beautifully warm day; so she decided to walk to the factory. It was a bit of a distance, but she didn't mind – anything to go see her Willy.

"God, I need to stop that," she said out loud as she crossed into town. "He's not even mine."

"You're crazy," some person shouted at her from their car window, "Stop talking to yourself!"

She covered her eyes with her hands. "Oh God…" Looking around, she ducked into the retro store that she had bought 'Quadrophenia' from. The vinyl started calling to her, and she immediately got lost in the sea of black plastic discs.

"You've got a phone call, you've got a phone call, you've got a phone – ANSWER IT!" Molly jumped. Looking at the time, she saw it was 5:30. She had been in that store for 3 hours.

'Shit! I'm so late!' She had told Willy she'd be over at 3.

"Hello?" She ran out of the store and started booking it to the factory.

"Hey, is everything all right?" It was Willy. He sounded concerned. Her heart fluttered.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I was in a record store, and- "

"Ah, say no more. I lose track in them myself. Be careful on your way over here, okay?"

"Sure thing. I'll be there in like…15 minutes."

"Okay."

Awkward pause.

"Bye." He quickly hung up. Molly looked at her phone, and then shut it, breaking into a run. She tapped into her inner chi.

_"Daddy, please! Stop!" Molly screamed as her dad hit her again. He had waited for her mother to take Marie to singing lessons before he went after her._

_ "You broke a record, hmm? Did something great, didn't you? Now you think you deserve nice treatment? Do you?"_

_ "No! No, I don't! It just happened…" Molly cowered in the corner, already feeling some blood drip down from a fresh cut on her face. "I thought you'd be proud of me."_

_ "PROUD?" He hit her several more times. She collapsed in a heap, sobbing. "I never wanted you or your disgusting sister. Marie is the only one worth praising in this house."_

She shook her head to get the memory out of her head when a new one replaced it.

_"Happy birthday Molly!" _

_ "Thank you, Uncle Jack!" Molly hugged her uncle, secretly wishing he were her dad. Looking over, she could see her father's dark eyes boring into her again. "Hi, Aunt Sarah!"_

_ "Happy birthday dear," she said, her eyes twinkling. "Where is that darling sister of yours?"_

_ "Probably out getting drunk," her dad said, scoffing._

_ "Robert," her mom said, trying to hush him up._

_ "You know it's true."_

_ "Miranda's not here," Molly started, feeling slightly anxious, "but I want to show you guys my new posters that grandma got me. Come on!" She grabbed both of their hands and led them up the stairs to her room._

_ Uncle Jack closed the door behind him when they were in the room. "Did he hurt you again?"_

_ Molly nodded, tears springing to her eyes. "Yeah." She pointed to the now-scarred cut on her arm. She had a few other bruises that she wanted to show him, but he ran over and hugged her before she could get any other words out. "We'll get you out. I promise" Aunt Sarah came over and hugged her. All three of them cried._

"Finally, you're here!" Willy said when he saw her. He was wearing a deep burgundy sweater and black slacks. His hat was nowhere to be found…AND NEITHER WERE HIS GLOVES. Molly's mouth nearly hit the floor, but she kept her jaw firm and only nodded. "Come on in. I was getting worried." She felt him lightly touch her back, leading her in. Her stomach suddenly got queasy with butterflies.

'I love him. I love him. I love him.'

* * *

Molly couldn't ask for a more perfect way to end her vacation. There she was, sitting with Willy Wonka in front of a large fireplace, drinking hot chocolate that he himself had made especially for her. After a few sips of the amazing drink, she started to get really hot, so she took off her beret, shaking out her hair as she did so. She could have sworn that he was watching her, but, when she glanced at him, he was staring at the fire.

"So, how is it?"

"Hmm?" She put her beret in her backpack, and then returned to her hot chocolate.

"The hot chocolate."

She gave him the biggest smile she could. "The best I've ever had."

He leaned back in pride, a smirk on his face. The right side was up more than the left. "Good. I've still got it. I haven't had to make any for anyone else in quite some time. Sometimes it's hard to figure out what people like. I've been studying you, though, so I know fairly well."

"What am I, an anthropology project now?" She said with a giggle.

"No. I just study people." He put his cup down and looked at her. "Do you know what's in that drink right there?"

She looked down in the cup. "Uhh…hot chocolate."

He rolled his eyes, still smirking. "Yes, but not just any hot chocolate. It's your own special hot chocolate." He cleared his throat. "Milk chocolate, honey, skim milk, and a few dashes of both white chocolate and hazelnut."

"That would be why it's perfect, then." She took another sip, analyzing the flavors on her tongue. "I can definitely taste the honey and the hazelnut. It's perfect."

'I love him.'

"So what's in yours?"

"Mine?"

She nodded. He looked down at his cup, immediately appearing shy. "Well, I don't really have a set one for myself yet. I'm still trying to get my own perfect mix." He took a sip. "This is close, but it needs more chili powder in it." He took another sip. "Yeah, that's probably what it is." He shrugged. "I guess I can read other people better than I can read myself."

"Really." She put her cup down on a nearby table and stared into his eyes. "What have you read about me, then?"

He looked at her for what seemed like an eternity, and then put his cup down, leaning closer to her. "I can tell a lot of things about you, Molly. I can tell that you wear your beret as a sort of reminder of the better things in your life. I can tell that you did not have a great upbringing, evident by the scar up on your forehead that you try so hard to cover up." His gaze lingered for a moment before he continued. "I can also tell that there are many things weighing you down – many things that you feel like you are the cause of. I'm here to tell you that you're not the cause of any of them, whatever they may be."

Tears started to prick at Molly's eyes. 'He's right.'

"You should have been a psychiatrist or something."

He laughed a little. "I'm just good at that stuff, I guess. Always have been. A long time ago, when I used to actually hang out with people," he paused for emphasis, "everyone used to come to me with their problems, and I'd help them work them out. That was back when I worked for Cadbury, though…so that was a long time ago." He leaned back, resting his head on the chair behind him. "God, I'm so old!"

"Stop that! I'll throw this hot chocolate on you." She grabbed her cup threateningly.

He looked back at her. "Seriously, Molly. When were you born?"

"1992. Why?"

Willy did some math calculations in his head. "This factory was finished a year after you were born. I'm old."

"Whatever." She took a long drink. "So what was it like working for Cadbury?"

"Oh, I didn't really care about it then. It was more of a way to earn some money, since I needed it to get my own store and to make my own stuff. I was more of an actor back then, anyways." He stopped, his eyes suddenly four times their normal size. "Did I just tell you that?"

Molly laughed. "You were an actor?"

He hung his head. "Yeah…I hung around with a group of beatniks who put on plays and stuff. Really, it was just a way for us to get away from our parents." He paused for a bit. "I had already been a runaway for a few years at that point, so it wasn't really any different for me."

"Wait, what?" He ran away from home? Seriously?

He nodded. "I ran away when I was twelve. I became friends with Joe Mitchell when I was sixteen, almost seventeen. He got me in the group after a little poking and prodding."

"I ran away, too."

Willy gave her a sad look. "I'm sorry. I know it's hard. It will get better, I promise."

She nodded. "It's been pretty good so far. No one's tried to find me yet, so I think I'm in the clear. It's been half a year, anyways," she took a drink. "But back to your acting thing. What plays did you guys do?"

"We did a lot of stuff by local authors, but the big ones we did were, umm…." he ran a hand through his hair, "_The Glass Menagerie_…._A Streetcar Named Desire_…_Rumours_…and _Hair_. That was a big one."

She nearly spit out her hot chocolate. "You were in _HAIR?_"

He nodded, almost in shock by her reaction. "Yeah, I was. I was actually one of the leads."

"Did you…you know…"

"Get naked on stage?" He smirked again. Right side.

'I love him.'

"That's for you to wonder about and me to know." He winked at her, and then turned back to the fireplace. They sat in silence for a while until a thought crossed Molly's mind.

"So you can sing, then?"

"Sure."

"Would you sing for me?"

It was his turn to nearly spit out his hot chocolate. "What? Right now?"

"Why not? I'd play the guitar for you right now if I had one."

"That could be arranged."

"We're talking about you, not me. What do you need, music or something?"

"Music would be nice, but I'm still not going to sing."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

He shook his head. "I'm not singing. Not tonight."

"So, does that mean you might later?"

"Possibly, if you behave."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

His smirk never left his face. "Whatever you want it to mean. I'll go put on some music. I can hear the ringing in my ears. Never a good thing." He got up and walked over to the dark side of the room. Molly could hear him fiddling with a few things before "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield softly rang through the room.

"That's better."

"You picked this song on purpose. You can't really sing to this song."

"You caught me." He took a sip of his drink. "Definitely more chili powder."

They sat in silence until the song finished and faded into "Lay Lady Lay" by Bob Dylan. 'Another song you can't really sing to,' Molly thought as she looked over at Willy. He looked absolutely perfect bathed in the amber light of the fire. His violet eyes were sparkling with happiness as he stared into the fire, drinking his hot chocolate. When he finished, he looked down at the bottom of the cup, shrugged, put it down on the floor near him, and turned to her. "Wanna dance?"

"I thought you would never ask," slipped out of her mouth before she could control it.

'Thought you would never ask? What the hell is that supposed to mean? And why is he asking you to dance?' Her thought process paused as the walked to the middle of the room. He took one hand in his, and put one hand on her lower back. His skin was cool and soft. Molly felt herself blush slightly as she looked into his eyes and found him looking right back at her, eyes glittering even more than before.

'I love him.'

"Lay lady lay/lay across my big brass bed," Bob sang out as they moved almost silently across the floor. Willy was just full of surprises, as Molly was coming to find out. He was a great dancer. She had two left feet. She stepped on his feet a few times, which made her really nervous about his reaction. He just laughed it off.

The distance between them gradually grew smaller until she was laying her head on his chest. He didn't seem to care, since he gave her hand a slight squeeze when she did so. Molly could hear his heart through his sweater, and she was almost overcome with the love she had for him in her own heart.

'I just want to kiss him. That's all I want to do. I love him. I love him.'

"I love you," she accidentally whispered, lost in the moment. He didn't stop dancing. She was hoping he hadn't heard until she felt his vocal chords rumble.

"I love you, too."

Her heart leapt in her chest. Did she just hear that? Did that just happen?

She looked up at him, and was shocked to see that he had an incredibly sad look on his face. He looked as though he were about to cry. Tears pricked at her own eyes. "That's why I think you should go."

She dropped his hand in shock. "Wh-what?"

He put a hand over his eyes and turned around. "Please, Molly. Just go."

"I…I don't…"

"Please."

Molly stood there for a few more seconds, and then did what he asked her to do. She got a few steps outside of the factory before she collapsed in a heap, sobbing from the pain of her heart breaking.

**A/N: Okay, so, I almost started crying writing that chapter. Seriously. I didn't want to do it, but I did it…it's an integral part to the story. Trust me.**

**Sorry for the long absence on this story! I loved it too much to let it die. ^_^**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: That didn't take long, now did it? It really didn't, but it took a long time for me to actually sit down and write it all. I was dreading it. Seriously. I almost cried.**

**Anyways, this chapter will probably be kinda sad, too. Don't worry – it will be a happy story again eventually. I promise. ^_^**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 11  
**

"I need to talk to you." Molly was suddenly dragged into the far stairway in Brighton Academy. She had no idea who it was until she was practically pinned up against the wall.

"Nice to see you, too, Charlie. Welcome back."

"What the HELL happened while I was gone?" He looked thoroughly livid.

Molly looked down. "I don't want to talk about it." It had been a month since that night. She had called and called and called for nearly a week before she gave up. The whole thing was incredibly confusing to her, and she could not come up with any reason why he told her to leave.

"Well, I don't care. Willy looks terrible. He's moping all over the factory. He won't work on anything. He won't even talk to anyone." He paused. "What happened?"

Molly bit her lip to keep from crying, but it didn't work. She slumped onto his shoulder and sobbed bitterly. She felt her heart break again as the night passed in front of her eyes.

"_I love you, too…that's why I think you should go."_

"Did he do something? What? What happened?"

Molly started to feel like she was about to freak out. "I need to get out of here."

"What?"

"Out. I need to get out of here. I can't stay."

"Come with me. I'll have my parents make up some excuse."

"No!" She slid down the wall and held her knees close to her. "I can't go with you. I can't see him." She shook her head. "I just can't."

He rubbed his eyes. "Well, Molly, where the hell else are you going to go?"

"I don't know. Just not the factory."

Charlie grabbed her hand and led her out of the building. They heard the bell ring for first period as they walked out. They walked, hand in hand, all the way to the factory. When it came into view, Molly tried to wrench her hand out of his grasp. For a 14 year old, he had some upper body strength, because Molly wasn't able to get him to let go. He dragged her into the factory and up to her room.

"Stay here. Go to sleep or something. Just stay. I'll be back after school."

Molly started to protest, but Charlie walked out of the room and closed the door.

'I could leave…but that would mean I could risk seeing him. I don't want to see him. I do want to see him, but I don't know if I could deal with it…I love him. God, I love him.'

She collapsed on the bed and cried herself to sleep.

_

* * *

Molly was in a field. It was sunny and bright; she had to shield her eyes in order to see. Willy was there as well. They were lying down next to each other, holding hands, laughing about nothing in particular. They looked into each other's eyes lovingly._

"_I love you, Willy." Molly said with a smile._

"_I love you, too. That's why I think you should leave."_

Molly snapped awake and began to cry again. 'This is ridiculous,' she thought, holding her head in her hands. 'I had to have done something. There's no other explanation. None. I love him. Damnit.' She had gotten up and stubbed her toe on the side of the bed. 'Damn damn damn. That really hurt. I need ice. Where is ice? Oh, the kitchen. Damn. And the Bucket's house. Damn. He'll be somewhere here. Damn damn damn damn.'

Molly limped down the hallway towards the Bucket's house. She had really done a number on her pinkie toe. As she neared the candy room, she heard faint music coming from the end of the hall. She had never gone down that far, so it sparked her curiosity. The fact that Willy might have been in there never crossed her mind – she figured an Oompa Loompa was hanging out in a room, listening to music.

Depressing music.

"Can't You See" by the Marshall Tucker Band.

"Can't you see/Oh, can't you see/What that woman, Lord/She been doing to me," Molly hummed along as she limped towards the room. The door was open a crack, so she looked in with one eye.

There he was, lying on his stomach on the floor, his hair in waves all around his face. There were random tissues all over the room, evidence that he had been crying. It was obvious to Molly that he was upset as well. She was about to go in and talk to him when the little voice in her head stopped her.

'He told you to leave, remember? He doesn't want you around.'

'But he loves me. He said so.'

'He told you to get out. He doesn't want to see you. Go get your ice and leave. He doesn't want you.'

Molly shook her head, trying to get the voice to go away. It was right, though. He didn't want her. He didn't want to see her. He told her to leave. Wiping tears from her eyes, and taking one last look at a distraught Willy Wonka, she went to the Bucket's house. They weren't home, so she went in, grabbed some ice and a plastic bag, and limped out of the factory.

Molly walked home in the snow, and was shivering by the time she got home. Miranda welcomed her with open arms, and whipped her up some hot chocolate while covering her up with a large beach towel. Molly took one sip and started to sob.

It wasn't perfect.

* * *

*clink*

Molly opened her eyes and looked around her room. Blaming it on her dreams and the funky heater Jeff still hadn't quite fixed, she rolled over and closed her eyes.

*clink*

'Damn.' Molly got up and looked around her room.

*clink*

"Aah!" Molly squealed as she saw a rock fly up to her window and make contact with the glass. Looking outside, she saw the image of a short boy. No doubt it was Charlie.

Molly opened her window. "What?"

"Come outside. I need to talk to you."

She rolled her eyes. "It's one in the morning! Can't it wait?"

"No. Come down here. Please." Pause. "It's Willy. I'm worried."

Molly stood there for a second, her hands gripping the windowsill hard. 'Shit.' She grabbed a nearby hoodie, put her hair up in her beret, and sulked outside. It was really cold out, and she didn't like being outside in the cold.

"Okay, what's going on?"

"He won't come out of his office."

"What?" Molly realized that she had seen him in his office.

"He won't come out. He just lays there, listening to crappy music. Mom even tried to get him to come out with her snickerdoodles. They're his favorite. He wouldn't come out. He just groaned at her." He paused. "What happened?"

Tears pricked at Molly's eyes. "We love each other. That's what happened. And he doesn't want to deal with it."

"Oh. Wow." Charlie ran a hand through his hair. "That's deep."

Molly put her arms around her middle, trying to warm herself up. "That's why I don't want to see him right now. He's the one who doesn't want it. It would just hurt me even more to see him."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"Okay. Well, I'll try to talk to him. Go inside and get some sleep." And, with that, Charlie walked out towards the factory.

"Charlie?"

"Hmm?"

"It's cold. Stay here."

"All right."

* * *

On March 15th, her birthday, Molly walked into school, not expecting anything special. As soon as she stepped in the door, however, a shower of confetti was shot in her direction.

"HAPPY 18TH, MOLLY!" Angelina and Gwen said in unison as they ran over and gave Molly a huge hug. The guys took turns hugging her after the girls had finished being girlie.

"I don't think I told anyone when my birthday was," Molly said, thoroughly confused. She didn't even remember telling Charlie, so she definitely didn't tell this group. "How did you guys know?"

"We asked the secretary," Jess said, eyes glittering with pride. "She let us know without a problem. We've been planning this for quite some time…especially since you've been looking pretty down lately."

"Yeah, and we don't like that," Angelina said, taking Molly by the hand and leading her towards her locker. "So, go on to your locker. Hopefully it will cheer you up."

"Okay…" Molly walked over to her locker. On the front was a large piece of white paper, cut to the precise dimensions of her locker. Various people had signed it and written messages, from the five of them, to staff members, even Charlie. There was even a small, shaky signature towards the bottom, complete with a small heart, that she didn't even really believe was on there. Fingering her emerald pendant, she turned around with tears in her eyes. "This is fantastic, guys. No one's ever done something like this for me. Thank you."

"Oh, that's only the beginning," Stephen said, motioning towards her locker. "Go ahead, open it."

She turned back to her locker, and then back at them. "You guys hacked my combination, too?"

"Eric did the work on that," Angelina pointed at him with her thumb. "He creeped on you for a while before he finally figured it out."

Molly lightly punched him on the arm. "You creeper!"

"You know it," he said, winking at her. She smiled and turned back to her locker, opening it with caution. She was glad she did, because another shower of confetti came down on her, sticking in her hair. After she shook her head with a laugh, she noticed there were 5 presents, all wrapped in the same red and green Christmas wrapping paper, on the top shelf.

"Oh my goodness, guys," Molly said as she retrieved the presents and looked at them, "You didn't have to get me anything. This is too much."

"Nonsense!" Gwen said, practically shoving the presents in Molly's face. "It's your 18th birthday! Everyone in our group has celebrated theirs already, and it's been our tradition since we all met. You have to get presents from all of us."

"Why didn't anyone tell me when their birthdays were?"

"Oh, honey, they were all in the summer," Angelina said, taking a few of the presents in her arms so that Molly wasn't overwhelmed by boxes. "We're all July and August babies. We were hoping you were, too, but no, you had to be born on the Ides of March."

"Beware, it's my birthday," Molly said as she started ripping a present open. Angelina's black-tipped fingernails flew to her own hands.

"No! You have to wait until you get home! No opening in front of all of us."

"I have to wait?"

They all nodded. "Yep, you have to wait. Sorry."

"You guys suck," she said as she loaded the presents back into her locker.

"That's what you think! We're not even done with you yet!" Gwen replied, flicking her hair over her shoulder and walking off towards her locker. The rest of them scattered, Angelina and Stephen holding hands and whispering down the hall.

The rest of the day flew by. The group sang to her in the lunchroom, slipped her little chocolate hearts (Luckily, they weren't Wonka hearts. That would have just been ironic…if that were the meaning of ironic. Who knows?) in the hallways, and continued to write wonderful notes of encouragement on her paper during the course of the day. Molly looked for Charlie in the cafeteria, but he wasn't there. She figured something had gone wrong in the factory, so she didn't bother trying to track him down. It wasn't until seventh period had ended, and she was headed back to her locker, that he approached her.

"Hey," he said, handing her a small box. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you, Charlie!" She said, accepting the gift. She put it in her locker, and then turned back to talk to him…but he was gone. She looked up and down the hallways, but he had completely disappeared. "Hmm…weird." Molly piled all of the presents in her backpack and joined Angelina and the others in the library – something she hadn't done in quite some time.

"Looks like you've had a good day so far," Miranda said as Molly sat in the living room, on the floor, with her presents all around her. The group had all come together and bought her each a different 90s pop CD - Angelina got her the Spice Girls, Gwen got her NSync, Eric got her the Backstreet Boys, Stephen got her No Doubt's second album, and Jess got her a 98 degrees CD. Charlie was evidently involved in the 90s theme, because he had gotten her a Giga Pet that was 101 Dalmatians themed. They also got her a frame with a picture of all of them in it. She thought it was the best birthday ever.

And then came Miranda's present.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart," Miranda said as she handed Molly a rather heavy box. Molly opened it and gasped.

It was her own cell phone. Not just a phone, though.

"It's a freaking BlackBerry!"

"I figured you'd be sick of Al Pacino by now, so Jeff and I went out and got you something that you can use all the time." Miranda rested her chin on her hand, smiling at her little sister. "Do you like it?"

Molly was speechless; all she could do was nod in amazement. This was the best present she had ever received.

'Well,' she thought, 'besides the necklace.' She shook her head to keep the tears from coming. It had been two months. The wound was starting to heal, but it was still rather sore. "Thank you, Mira. This is…wow. I love it."

Miranda smiled even more. "Well, good. I'm glad." She got up to go in the kitchen, but stopped to pick up a little envelope that had fallen on the floor. "Oh, Moll, I think you missed something." She handed it to Molly, who inspected it. It was the smallest envelope she had ever seen in her life, and it felt like it didn't contain anything. She thought that there was probably nothing in it, but curiosity got the best of her. She opened it up to find a small slip of paper.

_Stargaze tonight at 11. I still need to give you your birthday present. I'm sorry. – W_

* * *

"Man, it's cold out," Molly said as she walked out the door at about 10:50 at night. It was a clear night, so the stars were out and gleaming. Even with three layers on, she was shivering…even though she knew that the cold wasn't why she was shaking.

She was nervous. She knew exactly who W was. And he was coming to her house, to meet her, outside, after two months of not seeing or talking to each other, and give her a birthday present. She had hoped he wouldn't be early, since she wanted some time to collect her thoughts.

But, there he was. She could see his breath rising up into the sky as he lay on the grass, looking up at the stars. 'He's even prettier in the moonlight,' she thought as she quietly closed the screen door behind her. Taking a deep breath, she slowly made her way over to where he was, assuming the same position he was in.

"Hi," he said, not taking his eyes off of the sky.

"Hi," she said, not averting her eyes either.

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"How are you?" She asked.

"Miserable. You?"

She softly laughed. "Same."

He sat up, visibly distraught. Her eyes darted over to him, and then returned to the sky. "I wanted to give you your birthday present. Charlie told me when it was, and I had been racking my brain for something to give you before…well…yeah." He ran a hand through his still-wavy hair. "So I hope you don't mind if I still give it to you."

Molly half-smiled. "No, I don't mind." She sat up and looked at him, their eyes meeting for the first time that night. They looked away at the same time, him reaching for her present, and her looking down at her hands. He handed her the small bag without looking at her. His gaze, too, went to his hands as she reached in and pulled out the present.

It was a beret. Molly thought it was another black one at first, but, upon further inspection in the moonlight, discovered it was a deep burgundy color. A raspberry, if you will.

"A raspberry beret," she said with a smile. She had mentioned in passing that she had always wanted a raspberry-colored beret so that she could say she found it in a second hand store, like the Prince song. Tears started to free-fall from her eyes as she took off her black beret and replaced it with her new one. "Thank you, Willy. It's perfect." She wiped the tears off of her cheeks and looked over at him. It was then that she noticed his shoulders slightly shaking.

He was crying.

"Willy? What's wrong?" She gently put her hand on his shoulder, hoping that he wouldn't swipe it away. He didn't.

"I miss you." He sniffed, wiping the tears off of his face, obviously embarrassed that he was crying in front of the girl he loved. "I can't do anything. I just lie there and miss you. That's all. I screwed up. I freaked out. I'm so sorry." He grabbed her hand and held it in his. "I worried more about what others would think than what I felt. I can't really ask for you to take me back, since nothing technically happened…but if you would just forgive me, I would do the best I could to make this work." He looked into her eyes, which were producing their own rivers in her face at that point. "I'm so sorry, Molly. Please forgive me."

At that point, she just broke down. "Of course I forgive you, Willy. I love you."

"I love you, too, Molly." He suddenly took her in his arms and held her there. They cried into each other's shoulders for quite some time before Willy actually broke up the hug and took her face in both of his gloveless hands. He gave her a pleading look before pressing his lips gently to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in.

'How lucky am I? Wow. Is this what it's always supposed to feel like? This is nice. I could get used to this.'

He ended the kiss kind of awkwardly, looking incredibly embarrassed. "Sorry," he mumbled.

She was on Cloud 9, so she had no idea what he was talking about. "For what?"

"For that. I'm not a bad kisser, I swear…it's just been almost 20 years."

Molly laughed and fell into his chest. He put his arms around her and rested his chin on top of her head. "Whatever, Willy. That was perfect."

'Absolutely perfect.'

**A/N: .God.**

**Did anyone else cry? I cried. The whole time I wrote this. First with tears of sadness, and then with tears of joy. I'M SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW!**

**Love you guys. ^_^**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hiiii!**

**Do you love this story? BECAUSE I DO! Yay. I'm putting my Harry Potter prequel that I was so jazzed about on hold because I'm right back into this one. Love love LOVE it. **

**Anyways…sorry for the delay on this one. I'm still totally feeling out where I'm going to go, since I kind of changed some things around. There will be sad parts, there will be happy parts…but yeah, it all will fall into place.**

**I also don't know how long this one will be. Heh. We'll see.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it. Sorry.**

**Chapter 12  
**

_ Thank you for doing whatever you did. – Charlie_

Molly discovered that message on her paper-covered locker the next day. She smiled, knowing exactly why Willy was doing better. She herself was still walking on air from the night before.

_ "Bonne nuit, ma cherie. Je t'aime," Willy said as he left. Molly wasn't even sure what it meant, but she knew it was French, and she knew that it sounded REALLY sexy coming out of his mouth._

_ "Good night, Willy. I love you."_

"Hey!" Angelina snuck up behind Molly and gave her a big hug. "I tried to call you last night, and it didn't work."

"Oh, sorry. Got a new phone." She pulled it out of her purse.

"Ooo!" Jess appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her BlackBerry, holding it in his hands like it was a precious stone. "Pretty."

"I know, right?" Molly grabbed it out of his hand and started pressing random buttons. "I have no idea how to work it yet. I haven't even turned it on."

"I can help you with that," he said, grabbing it out of her hands again and pushing the 'on' button. It made a little noise and lit up.

"Pretty! Let me see!" Angelina grabbed it out of Jess's hand. He let out an "aww" as she started to push a few buttons. It took Molly a minute to realize that she was adding her phone number to the new phone. "There you go. Now I'll call myself," she took her own phone out of her bag and waited.

The sounds of Britney Spears' "Gimme More" rang through the Brighton halls as Angelina hung up on Molly and saved her phone number.

"What's my number, anyways? I need to let W- some people know." She caught herself before she said Willy's name. No one but Charlie knew that she even knew him, let alone their relationship.

She beamed inside. Relationship. With him. 'Yay.'

"Tell you later," Angelina said as the bell rang. "Come on, we gotta get to class."

* * *

"I take it he's doing much better?" Molly asked as she sat next to Charlie at lunch. He looked up at her and rolled his eyes.

"Dear God. I haven't seen him this delirious since he figured out why the meal gum made Violet Beauregarde swell up like a blueberry," he took a bite of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and continued with his mouth full. "He's dancing around everywhere, singing crappy songs."

"Aww, he's singing?" She felt her cheeks get a little red.

Charlie stuck his tongue out in disgust. "Gross. Am I going to have to watch you guys be lovey-dovey?"

She laughed. "No. There will be Charlie time, and there will be Willy time. I promise."

"Good." He took a drink of milk. "I'd rather not see my mentor macking on my best friend."

"Macking?"

"It's some sort of American term. Heard it in a movie."

"Hmm."

"Molly!" She turned around to see Angelina and Stephen waving her over to their table. "Get over here! Important!"

"I'll be right back," Molly said as she got up to leave. Charlie stuck his tongue out at her.

"Tell Angel I said hi."

Molly walked over to the table, receiving strange stares from everyone as she passed. Some people even started whispering when she walked past. Sitting down on the bench between Angelina and Eric, she leaned in and asked the big question:

"Why is everyone staring at me?"

Angelina grabbed her arm with urgency. "Gwen knows."

"Knows what?"

"That you've been in the factory. She's telling everyone she can that you're going to get her in it as well." She leaned in closer. "You're the talk of the school, girl."

"Are you kidding me? Like hell I'll take her in the factory. Willy would frea-" she slapped her hand over her mouth. Her group's eyes all widened at the same time.

"You mean…"

"No way…"

"You know him?"

Angelina tightened her grip on her arm. "Is he really as crazy as they say he is?"

"Look, I don't want to talk about it right now," Molly said, wrenching her arm out of Angelina's grasp. "If I see Gwen, I'm going to kick her in the shin. Seriously. I could kill her right now."

They were all still in amazement. "You are so lucky," Eric said, pulling Molly close to him. "I wish I had your life."

"No, you don't," she thought and said at the same time. "I have to go." She stood up and walked back to Charlie. He had finished his sandwich and was currently working on Algebra.

"Hi. Gwen knows I hang out with you now."

"Uh, what?" Charlie looked up from his Algebra, calculator in hand. He looked thoroughly confused.

"Everyone now knows that I've been in the factory," she looked around and noticed that everyone in the lunchroom was staring at her. "And now, Angelina and them know that I know Willy."

"They don't know-"

"No. You're the only person who knows that…besides Willy, of course." She put her head in her hands. "Now people are going to ask me to take them inside of the factory. They're not going to leave me alone about it!"

"Welcome to my life," Charlie said, closing his book and putting it back in his bag.

'I never thought of that', she realized as he stood up to leave. He probably got that all the time. Her initial intentions hadn't been to get back into the factory; it had just been a passing thought. To her knowledge, Charlie still didn't know about the random time she was there. "Sorry, Charlie. I shouldn't be complaining about it."

"It's cool," he said, grabbing her tray and putting it on the conveyor belt for her. "You're lucky you're going to graduate soon. I'm stuck her for three more years."

She nodded. "Yeah, that's true." Putting a hand on his shoulder, she turned him around. "I'm not going to leave you, you know. We'll still be besties after I get out of here."

He half smiled. "Yeah, I know." Shrugging her hand off, he walked out of the lunchroom. Molly followed.

"Everything okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"You sure?"

He nodded again. "I'm okay. Just tired. It's been a long week." He walked off quickly, leaving Molly in the middle of the hallway.

"Hey, Molly!" Some random girl said as she walked past her, "Can you get me a golden ticket?" The gaggle of girls she was with all laughed. Molly shook out her hair and started to walk to her next class, hoping that she didn't run into Gwen.

'I'm going to kill her.'

* * *

"Charlie, I told you I'd be done in an hour-hi," Willy said as he opened the door to his office. Molly had decided to pay him a visit (unbeknownst to Charlie) after her nightly hanging out in the library. He smiled when he registered it was her, and leaned up against the doorway. She smiled back. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I figured I'd come and see you…if you're not too busy." She peeked around him into his office. It looked like a hurricane had gone through it.

"I'm never too busy for you. Come on in," he opened the door for her to come in, and immediately grabbed some papers off of a nearby chair for her to sit down. Molly smiled as she noticed the picture she had given him for Christmas was front row center on his desk.

"What?" Molly looked up and noticed Willy was looking at her.

"Nothing. I just noticed where the picture I gave you for Christmas was." She grabbed it and turned it around, laughing. "Has it always been there?"

"Since you gave it to me," he sat down at his computer. Molly started walking toward him, but stopped, realizing that he might be working on something top secret, or something that he'd get really mad at her for knowing about.

"Gah!" Willy exclaimed, raising his arms in frustration.

"Everything ok?"

He looked over at her from the corner of his eye. "Promise not to tell Charlie?"

She nodded.

"Okay. Come here," he waved her over. She obeyed, realizing that he was playing Solitaire. "I've been at this stupid game for three hours, and I can't win! It's getting very frustrating." He rested his head in his gloved hands. "Charlie would kill me if he knew I had been doing this for so long, but I really don't want to call Prince Pondicherry, after everything that happened with his palace. He's still really mad at me, even after ten years."

Molly studied the screen, and it dawned on her. "Put the red ten on the black jack there," she pointed at the screen. He looked at the screen for a few seconds, let out an "Oh, my God", and did what she told him to do. The rest of the game took about thirty seconds for him to complete. He won.

"Yes!" This time, he put his arms up in triumph, spinning his chair around in excitement. "Thank you, Molly. I needed that."

She started to sit down on his desk, waiting for a sign that he cared. She didn't get one, so she sat down all the way. "Rough day?"

"It's better now that you're here." He said, violet eyes glittering. "So, how was your day at school?"

She sighed. "I've had better days. Apparently, Gwen," she paused, realizing that he had no idea who his friends were other than Charlie. "She's this girl that I hang around with sometimes. Anyways, Gwen figured out that the Charlie that I hang out with is the Charlie that lives here," she pointed to the ground for emphasis, "and that I have access to the factory, since I come here all the time. So, now, she's telling everyone that I practically live here, and that I'm going to let her come in, and blah blah blah." She rubbed her temples. "I don't understand why the group I hang out with likes her, honestly. She doesn't seem to be all that great of a person."

"Are you going to take her in here?"

"What? No! She's crazy. She'd probably steal stuff."

Willy stiffened. "Sorry," Molly said, forgetting how sensitive he was towards that. She had been rather young when the trials had happened, but she still remembered a few things about it…like how sad he had looked as he walked into the courtroom. "It's true, though. I wouldn't let her in here, even if I was right next to her the entire time."

"I'm glad," he said, closing up his solitaire game and turning his full attention to Molly. He looked at her for a minute, and then motioned for her to come closer.

She smiled as she walked over to him. He pulled her onto his lap and, grabbing her face, kissed her deeply.

They mutually ended the kiss and looked into each other's eyes. "That better?" Willy said, smirking slightly.

'Right side. I love him.'

"Yeah, that helped." She snaked her arms around his neck and huddled closer to him. She heard the snap of latex as he took off his gloves and held her tightly to him. "So, how was your day? Did you play Solitaire the whole time?"

He laughed. "No, not really all day. I made some phone calls, did some paperwork…basically what I do when I don't quite feel like creating anything."

She leaned out and looked at him. "The great Willy Wonka has 'those days'?"

"I am human, after all," he said, kissing her again. "A human who's really in love."

"Are we going to be this mushy all the time?"

He looked over to the side, and then back to her. "Probably. I'm quite the romantic."

"As am I," she said, leaning in for another kiss. "I have to warn you, though," she started, stroking his cheek with her pointer finger, "I am going to have to divide up my time here between you and Charlie."

"I understand. You two are best friends, after all," he said with a sad smile. "I can't have you all the time." He paused. "Even though I wish I could."

Molly laughed. "I know. I just want to make this as un-awkward for Charlie as possible. I know this is going to be weird."

"Yeah, it will be," Willy said with a sigh. "It's already weird between his parents and myself."

"How so?"

He sighed. "I understand where they're coming from. I mean…I'm a lot older than you," he looked forlorn at that moment, "and I understand their concern. I had it myself. That's why I told you to leave that one night. But, I realized that it didn't matter. People can think what they want. Besides," his eyes started glittering, "you're 18, so it's really not a big deal."

"And it would have been had I been 17?"

"I could have been thrown in prison for just looking at you!"

She giggled. "I know. At least, it's not a big deal to us." Molly ran a hand through her hair. "I have no idea how I'm going to tell my sister. She thinks that all the time I spent with you was spent with my friend Eric," she giggled again.

"Oooh, you liar." He kissed her cheek. "Anyways, I think it's wise that this doesn't really reach many ears. It may cause some problems."

"Are you concerned about your PR?"

He shook his head. "I'm more concerned about your PR. I just want to make sure that this isn't hard on you."

"Why would it be?"

Willy smiled sadly. "Let's just promise to only tell those we really trust about this." He held out his pinkie. Molly smiled, snuggling her head into his neck. She connected her pinkie with his.

"I promise."

* * *

"You're WHAT?" Angelina said, pacing around her bedroom. Molly had just spilled the beans on her and Willy's relationship. Angelina was one of the people that she trusted the most in the world, and she figured that she'd understand where she was coming from. "Are you serious?"

Molly nodded, now somewhat second-guessing her decision to tell her. "Yeah…I am. It just started, but I thought I should tell you."

"I just found out YESTERDAY that you knew him, and you drop this bombshell on me? What is that?"

"Sorry…I felt that you should know."

Angelina stopped pacing and sat down next to Molly, eyes huge. "How old is he? Like…40?"

"37," Molly replied matter-of-factly. "And it's not really a big deal. I'm 18. I can make my own decisions. Besides," she shrugged, "we love each other. Why not go for it?"

"Because it's creepy and weird," Angelina shook her head. "He's 20 years older than you are, Molly. Not to mention he's got a reputation of being one crazy man. You know he's been called a pedophile before, right?"

Molly stood up in frustration. "He is NOT a pedophile! He never touched Charlie, or any of the other kids in the factory. He didn't want to be together at first because he didn't want me, or anyone else, to think that about him." She sighed. "I thought, of all people, you'd be supportive."

"Oh, I'm supportive," she said, going over and putting a hand on Molly's shoulder. "I'll just be worried. Really worried. You had better take this really, really slow." She paused. "Meaning no sex."

"Jesus, Angel!" Molly covered her face in embarrassment. "We just started going out two days ago."

"Have you two kissed?"

She blushed. "Yeah…"

"Eew, gross. Just kidding. That's cute…I guess." Angelina then pointed to the necklace that Molly had been playing with the whole time. "Then he's the mystery man who got you that?"

She nodded. "Yeah, that would be him."

"Sweet, I'm up £10!" She laughed at Molly's confusion. "Eric, Steve, Jesse and I all had a bet going that it was either Charlie or someone else. Steve and I thought it was someone else, and Eric and Jesse thought it was Charlie." She shrugged. "I guess I can't tell them about it, though, can I?"

Molly shook her head vehemently. "No. Please don't. I'm entrusting you with this information, and only you."

They sat in silence for a while, with Angelina breaking the silence.

"How are you going to tell your sister?"

"Oh crap."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hi! So, I'm writing this while watching Home Movies (one of the best shows EVER). Heh. Brendon just lost the cat. **

…**Kind of one of those "you-had-to-be-there" moments.**

**Love this story!**

**Chapter 13  
**

"Are you going to have a graduation party?" Miranda asked, out of the blue. Her and Molly were sitting on the couch, watching the X Factor, in silence. A girl was singing the end of "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane at the top of her lungs. Molly waited until she was done to speak.

"My friend Angelina is having one," Molly replied, shifting uncomfortably. She'd never really been one for parties. "And everyone's going to that one, so…probably not."

"Oh, ok." They were silent for a few minutes. "Are you going with Eric?"

'Oh shit.'

"Umm, yeah, I'm going with Eric," Molly said, swallowing hard.

Silence.

"When am I going to meet him?"

"I don't know. I mean, I haven't even met his parents yet." Kind of true. Molly hadn't met Eric's parents. But, she wasn't dating Eric, so it didn't really matter. "I think he wants me to meet them first." She sighed; rolling her eyes a little to add effect. "He's really shy."

"All right, I guess. I'd just like to see whom my little sister is getting involved with."

"We're not _involved,_ Miranda. We're just going out."

"Have you guys kissed?"

Molly's eyes got big. "What?"

"Have you kissed? Simple question."

'Does she really have to ask me that question?'

"Yeah, we have," Molly started, looking down at her folded hands, wondering when she folded them. "Just a few times, though. We only became official about two months ago."

"Ah, all right. That makes sense, then."

'I wonder what Willy would think if I told Miranda…'

"Miranda, I-"

"Ssh!" She put up a finger to quiet down her sister. "This girl's gonna sing 'Oh Sherri'! Jeff! Get Sherri in here!"

Molly sighed, deciding then and there that she wasn't going to tell Miranda about Willy. She'd just keep on using the façade of her and Eric dating…at least as long as she could.

'I hope she doesn't find out about it on her own…'

* * *

"Molly, are you going to my graduation party this weekend?" Angelina asked Molly as they were walking out of Algebra. Molly knew all about the party – Angelina had only been talking about it since after her birthday.

"Of course I'm going!" She had never been one for parties, but she figured that she should go to Angelina's, just for the heck of it. Besides, it couldn't be all that bad.

"Awesome! That's great to hear. Eric said he didn't think you would go," she smiled while she put her books back in her locker. "But I told him you would, so that's great!"

"Ow!" Molly yelled as a paper wad hit her in the face. Stephen appeared from around the corner.

"Hey all," he said, putting an arm around Angelina's waist and kissing her cheek. She giggled slightly, color filling her face. "How are my two favorite ladies?"

"I'm glad to know I'm near the top of the list," Molly said with a smile. They walked down to her locker, and she put her books away. "So, Angelina, this party-"

"Right, the party. Well, it's on Friday and it starts at 7, at my house – but I can totally give you a lift if you want."

"Sure."

"And, hopefully, a lot of people will show, since I invited the entire school, practically."

"She did. I watched her make the invitations." Angelina playfully hit Stephen on the shoulder for his comment. Molly laughed. They were cute. "What? It's the truth."

"I know. I'm just messing with you." Her look became serious. "Now, if you guys wouldn't mind, I'd like it if everyone brought something to drink."

Molly was confused. "Like…soda?"

Angelina looked at her for a minute, and then started laughing. "No, honey, I wasn't meaning that. I meant, like alcohol." She paused. "But, you can bring soda if you want. We can make some mixed drinks."

Molly knew they could all legally drink, and that it wouldn't be a big deal…but she was a little uneasy about the whole situation. She'd be in a house with people she didn't know, who were, more than likely, drunk.

Plus, her dad drank. A lot. She didn't like alcohol at all, solely for that reason.

"Are you sure you want that stuff there?"

"Who are you, my mother?" Angelina shook her head. "It'll be fine. If you don't want to drink, don't. No one will judge you."

"Ok, good to hear," Molly said, slowly sinking into her own mind. She started to remember the smell of her dad's breath the moment before he slammed her head onto the shower door rail when Stephen brought her back by snapping in her face.

"It's all right, sweetie. Let's just go to class."

Molly was lost in thought during the rest of her classes. Whenever a teacher called on her, she would just mumble that she didn't know the answer – which was unusual, since she normally paid attention, and would be able to say something in response.

It wasn't the fact that Angelina wanted it there that bothered her; it was the fact that it would be there that bothered her. She didn't want to see people get hurt like she had and, even though she knew not everyone was like her dad. She didn't want people to become like him at an event that was supposed to be a celebration.

Angelina gave her a lift home, both of them not saying much. She asked Molly if she was mad at her, and Molly said no. She really wasn't, even though it seemed like she was. She just wasn't sure about the party.

"Are you going to come?" She asked right before Molly shut the door.

Molly smiled weakly. "Sure, I'll be there." She then closed the door and slowly walked to her bedroom, where she took out her guitar and started playing random chords really loudly.

* * *

"Molly!" Everyone said as her and Angelina walked through the door. Molly was taken aback by how many people she actually knew in the house…and how big the house was. Sometimes it slipped Molly's mind how rich everyone was, but reminders like these always brought her back to reality.

"Glad you could make it!" Jess said, patting her on the back. He had a cup full of some sort of clear liquid. "Don't worry," he said after noticing she was looking at it, "it's Sprite. I'm not much of a drinker."

She smiled. "Good to know someone else isn't."

Jess pointed across the room. "Check out Eric, though. He's gone." Molly looked over and started laughing. Eric was doing the disco next to a few girls who were dying of laughter. "He's been here since 6:30, helping Angelina set up…and throwing a few shots back." Jess shook his head. "He's ridiculous when he's drunk."

"He seems more social."

"Yeah, he is. Hey, I wanted to tell you, since you don't seem to be much of a partier," He leaned in, speaking in almost a whisper. "Watch your cup. Don't let it out of your sight."

That was the last thing she remembered.

_

* * *

Beep….beep…beep…_

Molly's eyes felt incredibly heavy. She tried to open them, but failed miserably.

'Oh, I'm still half asleep. It's all right. I'll just find my alarm clock…hey, what's going on?'

Her eyes snapped awake at the pain she felt in her hand. Upon looking at it, she saw an IV put in her hand – the pain she felt was the tape tugging on her skin. She looked around, taking stock in her surroundings.

She was in a hospital room, hooked up to a monitor, with an IV in her.

"What happened?"

"Oh, Jesus!" Her sister ran over to her side, grabbing her hand. "Molly Christine, what were you thinking?"

Molly's mind was muddy. "What happened?" she said again.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you go to that party," Miranda kept talking, oblivious to her questions, "I had a bad feeling about it from the beginning…God, what have I done? What have you done?"

"Miranda, what happened?"

"Honey…you don't remember?"

Molly shook her head, causing her head to start swimming. She laid back and closed her eyes. "No, I don't remember anything. Why am I here?"

"Someone slipped you something…ketamine, I think they said. One of the date rape drugs. It made you pass out in the middle of the floor." She started to sniff. "They told me you could die. I didn't know…God, Molly, I didn't know…" Miranda started to cry as she held Molly's hand to her head.

"Wait…someone put something in my drink?"

"That's what they said."

"I must have…I must have put my cup down…" She put her other hand to her temples. "Can someone shut off the beeping? It's really annoying."

"It's your monitor, sweetheart. They need to watch your vitals to make sure you're okay."

"How long am I going to be in here?"

"A few days, at the most – especially since you woke up."

'Something important is happening in a few days…oh my God, graduation!'

"Am I going to miss graduation?"

Miranda nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Yes, honey, you're going to miss it. But, that's all right. They've arranged for you to get your diploma after you get out."

"I can't believe…" Molly massaged her temples again. "Wow. This is too much to take. Can I get something to eat? I may feel better if I eat something."

"Yeah, sure. What do you want?"

Molly groaned as her stomach made a loud gurgling noise. "Anything, just food."

"All right, I'll be right back." She kissed her hand, and walked out of Molly's line of sight. She didn't get very far, though, because Molly heard her screaming at the nurse.

"No! They're not coming in! They have no right to see her!"

Molly sat up, trying to see around the doorway. "Miranda?"

"Oh, honey! We've missed you!"

Molly gasped in shock. "M-mom?"

Mrs. Relson came and grabbed Molly's face, kissing it over and over again. "We've been worried sick about you!"

"How did you – Marie? What are you all doing here?"

"Mom's been crying every day, Molly! How could you run off like that?" Marie said, glaring at Molly with a glare she hadn't seen in a long time…the one she gave Miranda and her when they talked bad about their parents. "We've been looking everywhere for you! We only found you because of the article in the paper."

She sat up even straighter. "They-they wrote about me in the paper?"

"Yeah. Here it is," Marie practically threw it in Molly's face. The headline read, 'Local Girl Gets Hospitalized After Date Rape Drug Given'. Her name was the first few words of the article. 'Molly Relson, 18.'

"It's a good thing dad saw it, otherwise we'd still be looking for you."

"No, you all need to get out of here! Go!" Miranda screamed at the two of them, pointing towards the doorway. "Get out!"

"Miranda, please, don't make a scene," Marie said, looking thoroughly annoyed. "We're just as concerned about her as you are."

"Oh yeah? I'm sure you are. You have been so concerned that you've done everything you can to look for her, right?"

"Yes, of course!" Their mom said, looking horrified. "Settle down, Mira."

"Don't you DARE use that name with me!" Miranda inched closer to her mother until they were nose and nose. "That is reserved for people who actually _care_." The last word was basically a snarl.

"In all honesty, Miranda," a deep voice spoke from the doorway, "we didn't think she'd be bright enough to come find you."

"Robert," her mom said breathlessly. Marie's eyes were even wide at the comment.

"You all know it's true. I figured she'd be dead by now." He got close to the bed and looked Molly up and down. "Looks like I was wrong."

Molly's breath quickened, as did her heart rate. The beeps on the machine started coming faster and faster. He smiled his sinister smile, and walked up to the head of the bed, caressing her face. "Hello Molly. I've missed you."

She was frozen. Every memory came rushing back; every beating, every shouting match, every time Miranda would come in crying, every sound…everything. The hand without the IV instinctively flew up to the scar on her forehead. His emotionless eyes flicked to her hand and smiled even more. "Did you get that while you were out getting drunk?"

"No," she said, the anger building in her system, "I got it from you. Remember?"

"Oh, yeah, that's right." He laughed. She could smell the faintest smell of alcohol on his breath. He moved in closer to her. "Just wait until you come home."

"Get away from me!" She yelled, smacking his hand away from her face. Shock crossed his face, but his smile soon returned.

"Sharon, control your daughter."

"She's not your daughter," Miranda said, fuming. "Not after the way you ignored her!"

"Robert, please."

He growled at Miranda. "You deserved everything you got. The same with her."

"Robert!" Her mom walked over and smacked him across the face. "Last straw. I want a divorce."

"NOW?" Miranda shouted, getting up in her mom's face. "After all these years, you ask for a divorce NOW? After EVERYTHING?"

"Miranda, calm down," Marie said, grabbing Miranda by the shoulders. "I thought this had all been worked out…we both apologized…after uncle Jack and aunt Sarah died…everything just kind of fell apart…"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Miranda screamed, backing up. "YOU ALL SHOULD NOT BE HERE! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!"

"GET OUT!" Molly's outburst came from her toes. Everyone stopped and looked at her with wide eyes. "Please. Just…just leave me alone. I don't want any of you around. Get out, get out, GET OUT!"

Everyone, including Miranda, stood there, frozen in his or her shoes. "Molly…" Marie said, looking heartbroken. They all relented, though, backing out of the hospital room. Miranda shut the door behind her, and they all resumed their quarreling outside.

There was only one person Molly wanted to see at that point. She really hoped he read the paper.

* * *

He did.

Molly woke up to a gentle caress on the cheek. Upon opening her eyes, she saw the worried, yet smiling face of the one and only Willy Wonka.

"When did you get here?"

"About ten minutes ago. I was watching you sleep, but I got bored, so I decided to try and wake you up."

"I'm guessing you read the paper."

He nodded. " I came as soon as I saw your name. What happened?"

"I don't know," she said, rubbing her temples with her non-IV hand. "I guess I put my cup down."

"I could have told you not to do that," he shook his head. "Why did you even go to that party? It doesn't sound like it was a good atmosphere."

"Angelina didn't mean any harm, Willy. Jess even told me not to put my cup down." She groaned. "I don't remember anything…"

He caressed her cheek again. She noticed that he was wearing his gloves. 'Must be because he's in a hospital. He doesn't wear them around me.' Noticing his normal looking clothing, she guessed that he at least changed before he came to see her. 'Trying to blend in…like he could with that hair.'

Willy kissed her forehead. "That's typically what happens with ketamine."

"How do you know about that? You never…"

He put his hands up. "Oh, no. I never did anything with it. My…an old friend had an experience with it."

"Oh." Molly sensed that he was keeping something from her, which was fine – she was, after all, keeping stuff from him. And everyone else. "Is anyone else here?" She decided to change the subject.

"No, just me. Why?"

"Oh…I wasn't sure…my family was here before." She said 'family' with a distasteful tone.

He grimaced. "I take it that didn't go well?"

She shook her head. "It never does."

"I'm sorry."

Molly looked out the window. "Yeah…I'll probably get emancipated here soon. I can't take it anymore."

"Are they why you ran away?"

She nodded. "My dad…"

Willy put his hand up. "I understand."

They sat for a while in silence, just staring into each other's eyes. Molly always forgot how beautiful Willy's eyes really were. They said everything that he didn't want to express – love, pain, joy, sadness. Plus, that violet color made her weak in the knees…even though she was lying down in a bed.

"Do you want anything?" He said at last, gently stroking the hand that had the IV in it.

"A kiss."

"I can do that." He leaned over her and kissed her as gently as he could. Molly could taste the faintest hint of chocolate on his lips. She was in heaven. "Better?" He said with a smirk.

"Of course."

"How long are you going to be here for?"

"A few days."

"Do you want me to stay?"

"Can you?"

He looked at his watch, tapping on it a few times. "I'm sure I can move some time around." He kissed her again. "Of course I can. Anything for you."

"Are you sure?"

Willy nodded. "I may need to run back and get my laptop, but I can stay here as long as you need me to be here."

Molly smiled. He was amazing. "That would be fine." She shrugged. "I'll just be here."

He kissed her forehead. "All right, I'll be back. I hope they didn't give my elevator a ticket – hi."

"Who the fuck is this?"

Molly smacked her forehead. Miranda.

**A/N: DUN DUN DUUUUNNN!**

**Come on. You knew it was going to happen. It was almost predictable.**

**Almost.**

**Molly's family sucks. I really don't like them.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Enjoy!**

**Chapter 14****  
**

"Who the fuck is this?" Miranda pointed a finger in Willy's face. His body was blocking Miranda's face, but Molly was almost positive that she was as red as a Red Delicious apple.

"Willy Wonka, at your service," Willy said, reaching for his hat. "Oh, I forgot I wasn't wearing a hat."

"Nice going, Willy," Molly said, putting her head in her hands. "Meet Miranda, my sister."

"Oh." He put his hands up. "I can explain-"

"I'm sure you can." She pushed past him and walked towards Molly's bed. "Why did he just kiss you? Who is this joker?"

"You…you remember Eric?"

"Yeah..."

"Well…that's him. Sort of." Molly grabbed Miranda's arm before she could haul off and smack Willy. "Eric is a real person. I'm just…I'm just not dating him."

"Like HELL you're dating this guy! How old are you, like 40?"

"37," Willy responded weakly.

Miranda stood there, speechless for a moment. "Who are you, really?"

He reached up for his hat again. "Dang. I keep doing that. I already told you, though, my name is Willy Wonka."

"Well, you're crazy, and you need to leave right now." She started to push him out the door.

"Wait, let me explain-"

"Nope!" She practically threw him out into the hallway and shut the door, locking it. He politely knocked on the door, but gave up after about ten knocks in a row. He mouthed 'I love you' through the small window next to the door, and walked off, his head hanging low.

"What the HELL was that?"

Molly rubbed her temples. "We love each other, Miranda."

"He's 40."

"37."

"So what? That's twenty years difference! And he says he's freaking Willy Wonka!"

"He IS Willy Wonka!" Molly yelled, causing the beeps to go up. "You didn't think that I'd go to the factory and not see him at least once, did you?"

"You're one messed up girl, Molly. One messed up girl." Miranda put her hands up and started to back towards the door. "I don't know what your problem is, but you're messed up. We'll have this conversation when you get out, but, until then, lay there and THINK about what you're doing." And, with that, she left, her ponytail trailing behind her.

Molly sighed, hitting her head against the pillows. She knew that it was bound to happen, but she didn't want it to happen that way. She had hoped for some sort of introductory dinner or something…anything but what had just occurred.

* * *

She had a feeling that Miranda wasn't going to come back until she was discharged, and she was right. Miranda had evidently told Jeff, because they kept exchanging glances with each other the whole way back to their house. Jeff even took a different route than normal as to avoid the factory, which made Molly get a little angry. She was hoping that they would have gone past it so that she would have been able to jump-and-roll to the place where she was the safest in the world.

"Okay, now, lay down on the couch." Miranda said, plopping all of her stuff in the nearby chair, pointing to the couch. Molly obeyed, not wanting Miranda to get too upset. She didn't want to Sherri to get upset. "Jeff, go take Sherri out." Miranda's eyes narrowed. "Molly and I need to have a serious talk."

"Fine! I'm gone!" Molly said, tugging her suitcase behind her. Molly and Miranda's conversation had not gone over too well. Jeff had taken Sherri to get some ice cream, so they had the house to themselves to yell and scream as loud as they wanted.

And yell and scream they did. Miranda kept yelling that he was a pedophile, that he was crazy ("Did you SEE him on TV four years ago? The man is a lunatic!"), and that if Molly thought he was honestly in love with her, then she was sorely mistaken. Molly fought back with retelling how they met (including the random meeting they had before she met Charlie), how they got along, their deep conversations, and, finally, how he didn't want to go through with it for two months, but eventually gave up because he loved her too much.

That did nothing. They fought and fought until finally Molly shouted in anger that she would move out.

"_Where would you go? The factory? You've been dating for two months, and you already want to move in with him?"_

_ "I practically live there already! I wouldn't be living with him per se. I have my own room."_

_ "Well, then, go. Move in there. Have fun. See if I care."_

Miranda slammed the front door in Molly's face. She briefly had a flashback of the day she got off the train. So much had changed in a year; she became an adult, graduated secondary school, had a new best friend, was in love, her parents knew where she was, and she had just gotten kicked out of her sister's house.

"Charlie?" Molly said in her phone when she got halfway down the block, "I'm coming over. I'll explain everything when I get there. …No, everything's not all right. Don't tell Willy I'm coming. Okay. Love you, too. Bye."

* * *

"Is that a suitcase?" Charlie exclaimed when he saw her. He grabbed it from her (with a little protest from Molly) and took it up the stairs into the factory. They took the elevator up to her room and plopped on the bed, closing the door behind them.

"Is Willy in his office?"

"No, he's in the Invention Room. What happened?" He studied her for a moment. "You don't look so good."

"Yeah, well, I just got out of the hospital and kicked out of my house." She showed him the band-aid on her hand where the IV was. "See?"

"Oh yeah, I heard about that. I wanted to go see you, but I've just been so busy…"

She put her hand up. "I understand. It's all right. "

"Have you talked to Angelina?"

Molly shook her head. "No. I haven't seen her. I missed graduation."

"Oh geez," he said, running a hand through his hair. "I'm so sorry."

"Thanks."

"Anyways, you got kicked out? Why?"

"Because of Willy." She sighed. "Miranda came in when he was there. She saw us kiss." Charlie made a face, to which Molly made a face back. "She threw a fit which continued when I got discharged. It's the same old same old…he's too old."

"Well…"

"I know, I know." She sighed again. "I just wish it was simpler, you know? No one knows him. They don't know how he is. He's not mentally as old as he is." She paused. "And I don't mean that in a bad way. You know what I mean."

"I do."

"And now, I'm homeless. I had nowhere else to go but here."

"Willy will let you stay here, you know. He won't mind."

"I know…but your parents might."

"Bah." Charlie waved her off. "Like their opinion matters."

"It does to me, and I know it matters to Willy."

Charlie thought about that for a minute, and then relented. "You're right, but still…they'll have compassion on you since you got kicked out."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

* * *

And they did. The Buckets were more than happy to have Molly after she explained the situation. They were extremely kind to her and, even though they did lay down some ground rules, they seemed to understand that she really didn't have any other place to go.

"Now, if you're going to stay here," Mrs. Bucket started, taking the snickerdoodles that she baked especially for Molly out of the oven, "there are a few things that we need to discuss. Charlie," she turned to her son, "would you be a dear and go outside for a minute?"

"Mom, seriously, I-"

Mrs. Bucket put one hand on her hip and pointed one arm out the door. Charlie obeyed, sulking up the creeping steps. "Now then," she resumed after she was sure he was out of earshot, "we need to discuss the situation of you and Willy."

Molly groaned, putting her head in her hands.

"Molly, it's not what you may think," Mr. Bucket started, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We're backing this, even though we're slightly…erm…concerned," he exchanged a glance with Mrs. Bucket, who nodded for him to continue. "But it's not just for you. It's for Willy as well."

"What? What do you…what do you mean?"

"Well…" The Buckets looked at each other, trying to figure out who should say what was about to come next. Mrs. Bucket took the plunge. "Willy's very…fragile when it comes to affairs of the heart."

"I know that. He's fragile when it comes to everything."

"Yes, dear, you're right…but even more so with love. Do you know why he closed the factory down all those years ago?"

"Well, yeah. People were stealing things."

"That's true, but do you know the other reason?"

Molly's mouth fell open. "There's something else? What…what was it?"

"Not a what, dear. A who. Melody Reynolds."

"A girl?"

"His ex fiancée."

Molly felt her head hit the floor before everything went black.

_

* * *

"Who do you think you are, telling her about Melody?"_

The bed Molly woke up in felt different than the one she normally slept in at the factory. It was less squishy, and the sheets were rather scratchy. The pillow was also a little flatter, though not by much. The back of her head was throbbing, but she snapped awake as soon as she heard that voice.

It was Willy. He was yelling.

Molly jumped down off of the bed and lay down on the floor overlooking the Buckets' kitchen. She peered down, making sure that no one could see her.

"Willy, calm down-"

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?" He started pacing, gloved hands squeaking furiously. His hat was cocked to the left, and his hair made him look like he had been static shocked. His face was completely red. "I was going to tell her about Melody. No one else. Me. That was my job."

"We felt that she needed to know before she decided to move in here."

He stopped pacing, freezing in the middle of the kitchen. He turned to face Mr. Bucket so slowly that Molly thought he looked like a creepy doll she used to have. "Move…move in?"

"She got kicked out of her house earlier today," Mrs. Bucket started, her complexion completely white. "Did she not tell you?"

The red color started to leave Willy's face as he looked around the kitchen. Molly could tell he was in a little bit of shock. She inched closer to the edge. "No. She didn't tell me."

"She's upstairs if you would like to see her."

"Shit," Molly whispered to herself as she quickly got up and snuck towards the bed. Unfortunately, she stepped on a board that was a little unsecure. It squeaked loudly, causing the Buckets and Willy to look up and see Molly frozen in a sneaking position. "Umm…hi everyone. I fell out of bed. I'm going to lay back down again."

She heard nothing but footsteps coming up the ladder as she laid back down in what she assumed to be Charlie's bed. From the clack of the heel, and the third clack from the cane, she knew it had to be Willy. Closing her eyes, she waited for him to say something as he knelt beside the bed, taking his hat off in the process.

"I…"

"Willy, can we do this later? My head is killing me."

Silence. She opened up her eyes to see a perfectly still Willy staring back at her, tears in his eyes. "I want to do this now."

"Willy, it's okay. I understand. Things happened before me. It's fine. I don't need to hear about it."

"Please, Molly…"

"I'm going to sleep. Good night," Molly rolled over, closing her eyes. She knew that she was being snippy with Willy, but she really didn't feel like talking to him while he was like he was, and her head really did hurt.

She felt him lightly touch her shoulder. He turned around and left, climbing down the stairs gingerly, and walking out of the house with heavy steps.

* * *

Molly sat on Charlie's bed for about 10 minutes when she woke back up. Her head was still spinning, but it wasn't because of her fainting. It was from the events of the day.

"Or yesterday," she said, looking out the window. It was dark out in the huge room. She could hear the chocolate river flowing outside of the house. Rubbing her temples, she quietly exited the Buckets' house (being especially careful not to wake the grandparents) and went and lay down in the fields of swudge.

First, she got discharged from the hospital. Then, her sister kicks her out. And then, she finds out Willy had a fiancée. 'What the fuck. My life is a soap opera.'

She sighed, looking around the room. It had a certain allure about it in the fake moonlight; the candy flowers shone, and the ripples in the river became visible. It was beautiful.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Molly grabbed a fistful of swudge and crammed it into her mouth, not sure she wanted to speak at that moment. Willy sat down cross-legged next to her. "I love coming in here at night."

"You can't sleep?"

"Can you?"

"I've been sleeping all day."

"I guess that's true."

They were silent for a moment.

"So…" Molly started, not exactly sure what to say. So many thoughts were swirling around in her head.

"When were you going to tell me?"

"When were you going to tell me?"

"Touché," Willy said softly. He ran a hand over the minty grass. "You first."

"I was going to tell you later," she replied. "I wanted to clear it with Charlie and his family first. You know, so they didn't feel awkward." She hung her head. "I really have nowhere else to go." She sniffed, trying to hold back her tears. "I can't go back to Miranda's, and I can't go back to Manchester. I don't have a job, I can't afford anything, and I'm just-" Willy swept her up in his arms as she began to cry. She sobbed into his velvet coat. The fact that she was getting it all wet and covered in snot crossed her mind, but it didn't stay long. She felt weak, and he was what she needed.

He kissed her forehead and started humming as he rocked her back and forth. Molly couldn't identify the song for a few measures, but she eventually pinned it as "Your Song" by Elton John…when he started to sing her the chorus.

"And you can tell everybody this is your song/It may be quite simple but, now that it's done/I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words/How wonderful life is, now you're in the world…"

* * *

It was two o clock in the morning. Molly and Willy were sitting in his office, on the floor next to each other, shooting paper airplanes into a nearby trashcan. Molly could see writing on the paper, but she didn't dare to look, worried it would be some sort of secret recipe. He kept giving her paper, and she kept shooting them in. Most of the time their airplanes missed, but, every once in a while, one of them would make it in. The reward was a kiss.

"So, Willy, are we going to talk about this, or is it just going to be the elephant in the room?"

"Talk about what?" He said, taking his shot. He made it, and turned to Molly for a kiss, but she put a finger to his lips, stopping him. He gave her his puppy dog eyes, but she didn't relent.

"What you wanted to talk about earlier." Nothing. "You know what I mean."

His eyes grew sad, and he looked down at his hands, sighing. "Oh yeah. I know what you mean."

Molly nodded. "I mean, Willy, I don't really care about what happened. You know I love you, and that's all that matters." She cleared her throat nervously. "It just seems like you _want _to tell me about it."

"I do," he said, squeaking his gloves.

"I'm all ears."

"Okay, then," he moved towards her, grabbing her hand. "I apologize if I cry. I don't particularly like talking about this."

"I understand."

"Here goes…I met her-Melody-when I was 17. She was 19. I had just joined the acting group that I told you about before, way back when. She was the female lead of every play we put on. Joe introduced us, and we soon became friends. I, uh," he ran his free hand through his hair; causing some of it to jut out from its normal, perfect position. "I worshipped the ground she walked on. I was a stagehand before I was allowed to act, and I made sure I did everything I could for her. I even made her a chocolate rose once…nothing really happened until we did _Hair_, which was about 2 years into our friendship. I was Claude, she was Sheila."

"Claude's the one who dies, isn't he?" Molly asked.

Willy nodded. "Yeah. I had to be covered in fake blood at one point." He laughed to himself. "I hated stage makeup."

"I've heard it's really nasty."

"It is. You feel like you have a pancake on your face. It's very hot, too – especially when there are spotlights from all angles on you. I enjoyed every aspect of performing except for that one." He sighed, shaking his head. "Dang tangents. Where was I again?"

"_Hair_."

"Oh yeah, _Hair_. _Hair _was the last performance that I did, since I had risen so far up in Cadbury that I had the ability to open my own shop. Melody was sad that I left the group, but was really impressed when she saw what I and my workers could create." He smiled to himself. "Charlie's grandpa used to work for me, did you know that?"

Molly shook her head.

He nodded. "Yeah. I found that out when they came in during the whole Golden Ticket thing. Anyways, back to Melody.

"After a few months, I asked her out on a date. She agreed hesitantly, citing that she didn't normally date younger men. But, it worked out, and we ended up being together for a long time…" He suddenly became quiet. Molly squeezed his hand, concerned. She tucked part of his hair back behind his ear and saw the tear falling down his cheek.

"It's okay, Willy, I don't have to hear any more."

"We…we were supposed to get married shortly before I shut the factory down," he sniffed. "I found out people were stealing things, and that she was pregnant all at the same time."

Molly's eyes grew wide. 'Willy's not…wait a minute…'

"She was…p…p…pregnant?" She could barely get the word out. Did that mean…

It couldn't mean it, though. It couldn't. What was the whole Golden Ticket thing for, then? If he had a child…

"Yeah. With Joe's baby."

Molly thought her eyes might pop out of her head. "Oh my God. Willy. I'm so sorry."

He wiped the tears off of his face, but more followed, leaving trails down his cheeks. "It all just happened so fast…I couldn't do it. I just couldn't do it. I couldn't believe that people could be so…so awful. So, I shut everything down and hid out for a while. I discovered the Oompa Loompas soon after that, so I had some sort of company. But I wasn't sure if I could ever see a human being again, until I saw that stupid gray hair." He made the motion of plucking one of his hairs off of his head. "Then I knew I had to." Willy shook his head. "Fifteen years…and I still cry over it. Pathetic."

"It's not pathetic. I would cry over it, too." She sniffed. "In fact, I think I might."

"Please don't cry, Molly. I hate it when you cry."

"I hate it when you cry."

He shook his head. "We cry too much, you know that?"

She squeezed his hand, and then let go, putting his arm around her shoulder. "We really do. We're the wussiest couple I've ever seen." He nuzzled his nose against her cheek in response. Her face became wet from the tears on his face. She slowly removed the glove of the hand that was hanging over her shoulder and kissed the exposed flesh. He reached over her, and, taking the other one off, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.

"Thank you for listening."

"I'm glad you told me…I'm so sorry," She brushed some of the hair out of his eyes. He half smiled at her, touching her forehead to his.

"No need for you to be, my dear. I have you now, and that's all I need."

They kissed again.

"I love you, Molly, more than anything in this world. Everything that has happened in my life has led me to you. I wouldn't do any of it over…even if I sometimes wish I could." Molly snuggled closer to him, burying her face in his chest. She felt more loved in that moment than she had ever felt in her entire life.

"I love you too, Willy. Always and forever."

**A/N: WILLY FINALLY SINGS!**

**I know, a lot happened in this chapter. That's my style, though – I like the plot twists. They're fun to write. Check out 'Mixed Emotions' – you'll see what I mean. **

**Like I said, I don't know how long this story will end up being…but I'll say it's probably ¾ done. (Boo!) Stay tuned!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: AuroraandRosalieWannabe – you are my favorite person. I love you. LOVE LOVE LOVE you!**

**Chapter 15  
**

"Well, good morning Starshine!" Willy said when he saw Molly the next morning. They had both decided to go to bed at about four in the morning. Molly didn't wake up until 3 in the afternoon. She had decided to head down to the kitchen to scope out some food, and had walked into Willy, who was on his way up to his office from the Invention Room. "Earth finally says hello!"

Molly's hands instinctively went up to her hair, but soon went down and crossed themselves over her chest. She hadn't slept in her bra. "Morning. When did you get up?"

"About 11. Walk with me," he said, practically running back towards the office. Molly, the track star, could barely keep up with him. "I had a very important conference call this morning. That Pondicherry, let me tell you what." He shook his head, hanging onto his hat as he did so. "He's becoming a thorn in my side."

"What day is it, anyways?"

"Wednesday. Why?"

She smiled sadly. "I was supposed to go in and get my diploma today."

"Do you still want to?"

Molly shook her head. "No, that's all right. I'm sure Miranda will get it and hold onto it."

Willy pulled her into a light hug, kissing the top of her head. "I'm sorry, Molly."

"You're seemingly in a hurry, remember?"

"Oh yes, right," he picked up the pace again, running when he reached the door to his office. "Well, my love, I'd really like to stay and chat, but duty calls. I'll see you later?"

She nodded. "I do live here now."

He smiled. "That's right, you do. Well, then, I definitely will see you later." He planted a quick kiss on her lips, and, smiling, shut the door behind him. Molly stood at the door for a few minutes, but then uncrossed her arms and trekked towards the kitchen. She grabbed a powdered sugar donut while in there, and then marched back to her room to untangle her hair.

* * *

dancing banana: Pondicherry is killing me!  
dancing banana: He won't stop talking!  
dancing banana: Come save me!  
Faded Galaxia: *laughs*  
Faded Galaxia: What can I do about it?  
dancing banana: Be the one to hang up on him.  
Faded Galaxia: I wouldn't do that! That's horrible!  
dancing banana: Well, every minute he talks, that's 42 pence out of my pocket. I need him to go away.  
dancing banana: Just come and push the button.  
dancing banana: …  
dancing banana: Please?  
dancing banana: *puppy dog eyes*  
Faded Galaxia: No!  
Faded Galaxia: I need a shower.  
dancing banana: Yes you do.  
dancing banana: *cough*  
Faded Galaxia: Hey! That's not nice.  
dancing banana: I'm kidding. You smell fine.  
Faded Galaxia: I don't care what you say. I need one. I will talk to you later.  
dancing banana: Aww.  
dancing banana: Hey, he stopped talking!  
dancing banana: Gotta go!

_dancing banana is offline._

Molly shook her head with a smile. Living in a place with Willy around constantly was going to be fun.

* * *

"I'm no good at this," Charlie said as Molly stared him down, aiming the tennis ball right at his face. He and Molly had gone wandering through the factory and had come across a tennis court. Molly felt the urge to play, so she dragged him in. They found rackets and balls with ease, and decided that Molly would serve first. "I've never been that good at sports."

"I'm not good either," Molly said as she threw the ball up in the air and hit it down hard. It landed on her side of the net. "See? It's just for the sheer hell of it."

"I can at least get it over the net," Charlie replied, smirking at Molly as he hit the ball into her court. It bounced once…and then twice. She didn't even hit it.

"Aww, crap!"

"15-love! Yes!" Charlie served again, but, this time, Molly fought back. They exchanged hits at least 10 times before Charlie missed.

"15-15!"

"You suck! Cheater!" He threw the ball at her in a playful frustration. Molly smiled, serving the ball. It actually went over the net this time, causing Charlie to dive to hit the ball…which he missed. Molly scored.

"15-30. Looks like I could totally win."

"It's too early in the game."

"Whatever. You know I can take you."

"With serves like that? Yeah, I'm sure."

"I thought you said you weren't good at this!"

"I'm better than you!" Charlie grunted slightly as he served the ball over in Molly's court. They went back and forth for nearly five minutes before Molly dived and saved the ball, throwing it back in Charlie's court.

"Ha ha! 15-40! Game point!"

Charlie fought back, and, after two serves, was tied with Molly. She had no idea he was so competitive. The two of them were drenched in sweat and panting heavily by the time they made it to the final point.

"Rawr!" Molly yelled as she served the ball. It landed in Charlie's court, and he sent it sailing back into hers. Molly dive-bombed the ball, sending it to the far right corner. Charlie countered with an underhand hit, hitting it just hard enough to get it over the net and onto Molly's side.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Charlie started to dance around his side, even going so far as doing the cabbage patch. Molly lay down on the ground, accepting defeat, and laughing at the ridiculousness of her best friend. "I actually won a sports game!"

"You're hilarious," she said, wiping the tears off of her face. "I can't believe you're doing the cabbage patch right now."

"Hell yes! I'm ecstatic!"

"Yeah, and I'm covered in sweat…I need a shower, like now."

"Me too. I'm gross."

"All right…lead me back to my room, and I'll let you."

He stuck his tongue out as they put away their rackets and the balls. "Maybe I don't want to. Maybe I want you to get lost in the factory."

"Meanie!" Molly said, starting to chase Charlie around the tennis court. She eventually tackled him, sending him flailing to the ground. They wrestled for a little bit before he pushed her off, both of them laughing hysterically. They sighed collectively, and then gathered themselves up and exited the court.

"We should do that more often," Charlie said as they climbed into the elevator and he pushed the button to her floor. "I mean, especially since you're here and all."

Molly smiled. "Yeah, I am going to be here a lot more, aren't I?"

He gave her a weird look. "Uhh…yeah. You kind of live here now."

Her smile grew wider. "I know I do. It's so great."

"Hey, what time is it?"

"Uhh…" Molly grabbed her cell phone out of her pocket. "It's 5:17. Why?"

"Shit." He ran a hand through his damp hair. "I'm not going to have time to take a shower. I'm supposed to meet with Willy at 5:30." He sighed. "Duty calls, I guess."

"Bummer. Guess you'll be smelly." She nudged him on the arm. He nudged her back. They started a nudging war when the elevator stopped at an unexpected floor. The door opened, and there stood Willy, an incredulous look on his face.

"What were you two doing?" He smirked.

'Right side…God, I love him.'

"Playing tennis. Duh. Now, if you'll excuse me," Molly said, pushing past Willy to stand behind him, "I need to take a shower. Charlie?"

"Yeah?"

"Turn around."

Charlie obeyed, staying in the elevator as Molly grabbed Willy's face and kissed him. With the boots he was wearing, she had to stand on her tiptoes in order to even reach his face. He seemed shocked at first, but then relented, kissing her back in his gentle way. He stopped the elevator door from closing with his cane as they kissed again, and again, and again.

"Okay, seriously," Charlie started, making an incredibly grossed out face at the two lovebirds. "Let's get going. 5:30 meeting, remember?"

"Oh yeah, that's right," Willy said, caressing Molly's cheek with a gloved finger. "I'll see you later?"

"Of course."

"Go take a shower. You're gross." He wiped his finger on his coat playfully, and then winked at her. "Love you."

"Love you."

"Gross!" Charlie called from the elevator as she turned around and walked off towards her room.

_

* * *

Gimme gimme more gimme more gimme gimme more…_

"Oh geez," Molly said, breaking apart from Willy's lips. They had just been involved in a rather heated make out session – their first one ever. It seemed like a prime time for someone – anyone – to call and ruin it. "Someone would call me."

"It always seems to happen that way," Willy said, sighing. He ran a hand through his hair with his ungloved hands. "Who is it?"

Molly stood there in shock. "It's Angelina."

He looked at her with concern. "Are you going to answer it?"

"I…I don't know." She looked at her phone, and then back at him. "Should I?"

He gestured towards her. "It's your choice."

"Damnit." The song continued into the second chorus. Molly realized she hadn't set up her voicemail. She pushed the answer button and slowly put the phone up to her ear. "He-hello?"

"Molly?"

"Yeah, it's me." She looked at Willy for any sort of comfort. He waved her back over to him. She curled up on his lap, keeping the phone on her ear. "How are you?"

"That doesn't matter. I want to talk to you. Can we meet somewhere?"

"Right now?" Willy whispered an elongated 'no', holding her closer to him.

"Not necessarily. In the next few days. Whenever you're available. I just want to talk to you."

"Sure. In the next few days." She poked Willy on the collar bone. He snuggled into the nape of her neck, planting a kiss there. Molly squealed a little bit.

"Are you all right?" Angelina asked, her voice full of concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Molly said with a giggle.

"You're with him, aren't you?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay, I won't keep you." She sighed. "I'll call you later. We can set up a time. All right?"

"Sure, that sounds great."

"Okay. Hey, Angelina?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Molly heard stifled sobs coming from the other end. "I love you too, Molly."

"Bye, Angel." She ended the phone call, snuggling into Willy's neck, planting a kiss in the exact same place that he had on her. She felt him shiver beneath her. He tipped her head up and kissed her lightly.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, everything's fine." She said in between kisses. "Let's get back to where we were."

"Are you sure?"

Molly shifted her position to where she was practically straddling him. He let out a soft moan. "Yes, I'm sure. I'm more than sure."

Willy opened his mouth to speak, but whatever he said was lost in the furious attack on his lips.

* * *

"Psst. Hey." Molly waved one of the Oompa Loompas over to her. She was in the kaleidoscope room, lying in the grass, trying to figure out when she was going to talk to Angelina. She had to admit to herself, she was kind of nervous to see her. She knew that Angelina took credit for what had happened to Molly ('And kind of rightfully so', she thought to herself)…but she knew that when she saw her, both of them would burst out crying. She didn't want to do that – she hated crying.

Especially when Willy wouldn't be there to comfort her.

That's why, when she saw the Oompa Loompa, she got an idea; maybe, if they knew where they were – or if they even existed – she could watch one of Willy's productions, just to take her mind off of things. She really wanted to see _Hair_, but, if they didn't have that one, she'd settle for any of them.

The little Oompa Loompa ran over to her, a quizzical look on its face. It then pointed to her beret, and then back to itself.

"Oh, you're the one who stole my beret when I was here!"

It nodded. "That was me," it squeaked.

"You guys speak?"

"Sometimes."

"Okay…well, I want to ask you something."

"Okay."

"Does Wil - Mr. Wonka have a storage area?"

The Oompa Loompa pointed in the direction of the South exit. "It's down the hall, to the left. It says 'storage' on the door." It shook its head. "It's big, though. Be careful not to get lost."

"Do you know if he has video tapes in there?"

"I don't know. With how organized he is, it would probably say 'video tapes' on the box."

She stood up, grabbing a handful of swudge as she did so. "Thanks," she said, stuffing it all in her mouth. "Oh," she started with her mouth full, "I forgive you for taking my beret."

The Oompa Loompa brightened up, and then crossed its arms across its chest, and then put them back against its sides. Molly did the same though, though rather weakly. She watched the little guy run off through the grass before heading to the South exit.

'I wonder if I'll find anything…'

**A/N: Short chapter – NANOWRIMO! I'll work on this story when a) I'm done with my word count, b) I feel the inspiration, or c) I don't feel like writing in my Harry Potter story.**

**Don't worry. This one will be finished…eventually. I started it – now I have to finish it!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: NANOWRIMO IS KILLING ME!**

**This story is at over 50,000 words, and I've been working on it for four years…and my NaNoWriMo novel is at a little over 18,000…I have three more weeks to get to 50,000!**

**AAAHHHH!**

**They say the second week is the hardest…we'll see about that.**

**Maybe I'll finish this one during this month, too. It's almost done.**

**Depressing chapter coming up! Be forewarned!**

**Chapter 16  
**

Something was very, very wrong with the way Willy organized things.

"Wow," Molly said to herself as she stood in the doorway of the storage room. It looked like one of those inventory rooms on crime shows; there were boxes everywhere, all stacked up in nice little rows. The only problem was that there were no categories.

"This is ridiculous," she said as she walked through one of the rows. Coloring books. Blankets. Hats. Toys. Pretty much everything anyone could ever want was in this storage room.

Molly strolled down row after row, searching for anything that could hold a videotape collection of Willy's past performances. She did find one that contained photos, but there were only a few in there of his father and a woman that she assumed was his mother. She smiled, looking at Willy as a small boy. He was adorable. The only thing she hated about the pictures was all the different types of braces he had on his teeth.

'No wonder his teeth are perfect,' she thought as she put the box back. She was just about to give up when she saw, out of the corner of her eye, a box that had the letter 'v' on it.

"Aha!" She exclaimed, running over to the box. Yep. It said 'video tapes' on it. Looking around, she found that it was in between newspaper clippings and coats. Completely random. "Oh, Willy, you need to alphabetize this stuff." She grabbed the videotape box and put it on the floor, opening it slowly.

There were quite a few videos in the box. There were a few copies of Hollywood movies, like Speed and the Breakfast Club, but most of them were home recordings. Looking at the dates, she found that most of them were from the early 90s. Molly did the math in her head…and figured out she had hit the jackpot.

There were dozens of videos from Willy's 20s. 'Night out 15-3-92', one of them read. That was her birthday. The Ides of March. She had thankfully brought a small bag with her in case she found more than one tape she wanted to watch. She snuck that tape in, along with a few other ones merely described as 'nights out'.

And then she found it.

_Hair._ 4-6-91. She shoved it into the bag, throwing the lid back on the box and putting it back on the rack. She darted towards the exit and, looking both ways in the candy room, sped off to her room to ask Charlie about where she could find a VCR.

* * *

"A VCR?" Charlie asked after she had hunted him down, looking incredibly suspicious. "No one uses those things anymore. Why do you need one?"

"I found some old tapes at my sister's house, and I want to watch them." She lied right through her teeth. She didn't want Charlie to know about her scoping out the tapes, because he would probably tell Willy, and that was the last thing she wanted.

"I'm sure there's one somewhere. Let me ask Willy-"

"No!" Molly grabbed his sleeve. "No. That's okay. I'll ask an Oompa Loompa. Did you know they could talk?"

"They only talk when they want to."

She nodded. "So I've heard." They stood in the hallway awkwardly for a second. "Well, I'm going to go find one."

"Good luck – they're all asleep right now."

"Shit." She walked into her room and dropped the bag off on her bed, and then walked back to Charlie. "All right…go ask Willy." She waved him off, trying to figure out what she was going to say.

Charlie walked down the hallway into Willy's office. Molly watched him poke his head in for about five minutes before walking back to her. "He said there's one in the Invention Room, and that I should go get it for you and put it in your room."

"Did he ask why?"

"No." Charlie shrugged. "He doesn't care when it comes to you."

Molly smiled sadly. If only he knew what she was going to be watching with that VCR.

It had taken a few minutes to set up the VCR (especially since Charlie had no idea what he was doing), but they eventually got it running. Charlie wanted Molly to pop a video in to test it out, but she refused, saying that it would be "too embarrassing". He took her word for it, and said he was going to bed, stretching as he did so. "Night," Molly said, shutting her door behind her. She turned the TV on, putting the volume down as low as she possibly could so she could still hear it. She then popped in _Hair,_ wanting to hear him sing more than anything in the world.

The film was rather dark and grainy. Molly could barely make out the stage until the lights dimmed and the spotlights came on. Even with that, it was still hard to see.

"When the moon is in the seventh house," the female singer started. Not knowing anything about who else was in the cast, she couldn't tell who was who. It wasn't until the camera captured the baby face of Claude that she realized it was Willy.

He was fantastic, leaping from ledge to ledge. Even though the quality was bad, when they all stripped, Molly turned her head, out of respect. When he sang, she got chills. She hummed along with 'Good Morning Starshine', knowing that the woman singing had been Willy's ex-fiancée. From what she could see, she was a very pretty girl with flowing strawberry blonde hair. Not to mention her voice was like that of an angel. She could instantly see the attraction between the two of them as they circled each other, gazing into one another's eyes. She wondered if they were engaged at that point.

Molly gave the performance her own standing ovation. It was the best performance of _Hair_ she had ever seen – one of the theater groups at her old secondary school had put on a performance, and she had seen the movie…but neither one of them stood up to what they had put on. 'If it weren't for the fact that he's a candy genius,' she thought, waiting with her birthday tape in had while the previous tape rewound, 'I would say he should have gone into acting.'

The VCR clicked, popping out the tape. Molly returned it to its proper sleeve, making sure that it was rewound all the way. She then checked her birthday tape, making sure it was rewound all the way itself. Satisfied that it was, she pushed it into the VCR, making sure to turn the volume down as low as she could.

This video had slightly better quality, but it was still rather dark and grainy. It opened in a bar, with a whole group of people sitting around an oblong table. The song "All 4 Love" by Color Me Badd was playing the background, obviously dating the video a few years.

"Joe! Put that down!" A man's voice said, waving his hand in front of the camera. Molly grimaced. She knew who Joe was. And, she knew who the voice had come from.

Joe swung the camera into Willy's face. She almost didn't recognize him from the shag cut he was sporting, but she knew it was him by that voice. Willy started loudly laughing, the sound sending chills down Molly's spine. It was a beautiful sound. He picked up a shot glass that was filled with an amber liquid and toasted the camera, downing it in one gulp and slamming it down on the table. "Whoo!" He said with a big smile on his face. "That's good stuff."

"Calm down, Willy," a female voice from behind him said, "that's your second one. You know how you get after three." She kissed the top of his head and then sat down next to him. He turned to look at her, gazing at her with the same look that he gave her whenever he saw her.

Melody turned to look at the camera, which made Molly pause the video immediately and gasp.

Not because she was beautiful…but because she looked just like her.

"What? What's wrong?" Willy came running into the room after hearing Molly scream in frustration. He grabbed her by the shoulders and made him look at her. Tears were streaming down her face. "What's wrong?" She wrenched herself out of his grasp and went to stand near her bed.

He then looked up at the screen. His face fell from one of worry to one of a mix of fear and anger. "Where did you get this?" He looked down at the floor, which was covered in all of the tapes. "And all of these?"

"I found them," she said, her voice tinged with anger. "I went looking for them, and I found them. Simple as that."

"Listen, Molly-"

"I look just like her, Willy."

He paused, looking at the screen, and then back at her. He did this a few more times, and then he spoke. "I don't see it."

"Well, I do, and so would everyone else in this word."

He stared at the screen for a little while longer, looking back at her every so often. "Okay, so I can kind of see it…"

"God Damnit, Willy!"

"What?"

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

He shrugged. "I don't understand…?"

Molly sighed, wrapping her arms around herself, trying to sort out her thoughts. Her head had immediately come up with the idea that Willy was with her because she looked like Melody. Hell, even their names were similar - Molly Relson and Melody Reynolds. Was that a coincidence? It could have been. But, in Molly's mind at that moment, it wasn't.

"What am I to you?"

He looked at the screen, and then back at her. His eyes widened. Her thoughts had become his. "Molly..."

"Answer me. What am I to you? Am I her?"

"No," he inched closer to her, arms outstretched. "No, you're not her. You're not her." He started to take her into his arms, but she moved back away from him. His face took on the look of a puppy that had just gotten kicked.

"Molly, come on."

"NO!" She pushed him away from her, holding herself again. "Don't touch me."

"Okay. Okay." He put his gloved hands up in surrender. "I'll leave you alone. We'll talk tomorrow."

"I want to talk TONIGHT!" She stomped her foot like a little baby. She felt bad for throwing a tantrum, but she couldn't get the thought out of her head.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"You're acting really crazy."

"I'm acting crazy?" She grabbed her suitcase from under the bed. Willy whispered a 'no', heading over to her again. Molly swatted his hands away. "You're the one who's dating me because I look like your ex fiancée! You're the 37 year old who's dating an 18 year old!

"Molly-" her name came out like a snarl. Molly stopped for a second, but continued on, pretending that it didn't faze her.

"You know what? Miranda was right. I've realized it. This isn't the way things are supposed to work." She grabbed her clothes from the closet and threw them into her suitcase. She then pointed a finger in Willy's face. "You know who you are?"

"Who?"

"You're the guy from _Lolita_."

The kicked puppy look returned to his face, only this time, it was ten times intensified. He had obviously read _Lolita_. "Yeah, that's exactly who you are! You're dating me because of a girl from your past! It didn't matter how old I was because you wanted me to be Melody! That's all you ever wanted!" She zipped up her suitcase and put it back on the floor.

"STOP IT!" Willy yelled, grabbing her by the arms. He was thoroughly angry. Molly's eyes grew wide in response to his outburst. "You're leaving? Just like that? Where are you going to go? You have nowhere else to go. Your sister kicked you out, remember?" He let go of her, but never broke eye contact. "Your home is here. With me."

She shook her head with tears streaming down her face. "What is wrong with you, Willy? Didn't you just hear what I said?"

"I heard everything. I just don't want you to go." His eyes were shining with tears. He sniffed, his nose starting to run. "I don't care what you think of me – I love you, and I don't want you to leave."

"Well, I'm leaving," she walked passed him and down the hallway. "I'm gone, and I'm not coming back until you finally get over her."

"I am over her!" Willy said, running to catch up with her. He had to walk pretty fast to keep up with her quick pace. "Don't you understand? Being with you is how I got completely over it."

"No," Molly stopped, turning around to face him. "Being with me is what's keeping you back. You want her, not me."

"That's not true."

"It is, and you know it."

"Molly…" He stood there, defeated, as she turned around and walked down the hallway, trailing her suitcase behind her. She heard him fall to his knees and let out a gut-wrenching sob as she got into the elevator and pushed the button to go to the back entrance.

* * *

"I told you it wouldn't work," Miranda said as she welcomed Molly back in the house. Molly had called her as soon as she got out of the factory, speaking incoherently through her sobs. She couldn't believe what had just happened. It felt like someone had literally cut her heart out, and made her watch them eat it. "Come inside. You're always welcome here."

"You didn't act like that two months ago," Molly said with spite in her words as she made her way down to her old room with her suitcase. Upon opening the door, she saw that it had not been touched – even the covers remained unmade, just like she had left them.

"Yeah, well, that's when my baby sister was dating a guy twenty years older than she was." Miranda stood in her doorway as she started to unpack her things. "Can I ask what happened?"

Molly shook her head. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Well, I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks."

"Mommy," Sherri said, tugging at Miranda's pants, "Is Molly staying with us forever?"

"Not forever, honey, but for a while. Right, Molly?"

Molly went over and picked up her little niece, holding her close. "That's right, sweetheart. I'll be here for a while. But don't you worry, I will never go too far away from you!" She snuggled into her neck, making Sherri giggle. "I love you, sweet pea."

"Love you too, Molly."

_

* * *

Gimme gimme more gimme more gimme gimme more…_

"Hi Angelina," Molly said, sitting on the couch, watching X Factor reruns with Miranda. Miranda shot a glare over at Molly's right hand, and Molly shot a glare right back at her. She didn't hold a grudge, why should Miranda?

"Hey, listen, I'm in your area – would you want to go somewhere to talk?"

"Sure." With the recent events, Molly had forgotten all about talking with Angelina. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot from the late night crying she had been doing for the past week. Also, her voicemail inbox was full from Willy's constant calls. She didn't want to listen to them, even though she knew she'd have to at some point. "Are you going to pick me up, or are we meeting somewhere?"

"I'll pick you up. I know a great place in London we can go to. It's a coffee shop – you like coffee, don't you?"

Molly smiled devilishly. "Oh honey, you have no idea."

"Great. I'll be there in ten minutes. Love you, honey."

"Love you, too."

"Bye."

Molly hung up the phone and looked at Miranda. "I'm meeting Angelina for coffee in ten minutes."

"You shouldn't be hanging around her, you know, after what happened at her party. She's a-"

"Bad influence, I know," she said, leaning back in the squishy couch. "She's my best friend here…besides Charlie. And God only knows when I'm going to talk to Charlie again." She sighed. "I just want things to get back to normal."

"Honey," Miranda grabbed Molly's hand, holding it in between her own hands. "Our lives have never been normal."

'That's true,' Molly thought, turning her attention back to the TV. 'We aren't a normal family.'

_

* * *

Molly sat in the pew, holding hands with Miranda. The preacher was going on about the lives of Jack and Sarah McDonnell, but she wasn't really paying attention. Her eyes were blurred over with tears. She clutched the black beret in her free hand, holding onto it tighter than she ever had before._

_ Miranda had always said that Jack and Sarah would get them out. "Uncle Jack and Aunt Sarah are good people, Molly," she would say while stroking her hair, "and they're doing everything they can to make all of this go away." She wished she had been born to them instead of to her parents. They were not good people. _

_ All of her hopes, her dreams, her aspirations…all of them laid in the caskets in front of her. They had both been driving to London when they hit a patch of ice and skidded off the road into a ditch, killing them instantly. 'At least they felt no pain,' Molly thought, wiping a tear off of her cheek. Some of it got on the beret._

_ She vowed never to wash it…and to get out on her own. Somehow, some way, she was going to do it. Not only for herself, but for the sake of Jack and Sarah, who had wanted that from the very beginning. _

Molly took her beret off, thinking about the time her aunt Sarah had given it to her. She then realized it was the one that Willy gave her – it had been dark when she grabbed it and put it on. She sighed and put it back on her head. Just because she broke up with him, it didn't mean that she couldn't wear the stuff he had given her. She grabbed her emerald pendant and held it up to her lips. She couldn't deny it – she missed him. Even though their relationship had only lasted a few months, and she had only known him for a little over a year, she had never felt happier.

"You all right?"

"Yeah, just thinking."

"Oh, that's dangerous. Hey, I think Angelina's here."

Just then, they heard the honk of Angelina's Saab. Molly grabbed her purse, patted Miranda on the head, and bolted out the door. She vaguely heard Miranda yell something like, "Watch your drink!" as she left the house.

"Oh, Molly!" Angelina yelled, hopping out of her car and running to the passenger side, hugging Molly as tightly as she could. "I've been so worried about you."

"I've missed you, Angel," Molly said into Angelina's hair.

"Have you?" Angelina broke the hug, holding Molly's hands out in front of her. "Have you really?"

Molly nodded. "You have no idea what life has been like without you."

"Nor do you. Come on, let's go to the coffee shop."

"All right," and, with that, they were off, driving into greater London. Molly closed her eyes as they drove passed the factory, but Angelina didn't seem to notice. Soon they drove into a parking lot that looked incredibly familiar.

"No way," Molly said as the got out of the car and she looked at the coffee shop.

"What?" Angelina said, worried.

Molly pointed to the shop with her thumb. "You know what this is?"

"Uhh…a coffee shop."

"This is the first place I went after I ran away."

Angelina's eyes got wide. "Are you serious?"

Molly nodded. "Yeah. Does Angie still work here?"

Angelina smiled. "You know her?"

"Yeah, she made me some of the best coffee I have ever had."

Angelina's smile got bigger. "I'm named after her. She's my aunt."

"Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo…" Molly started singing the Twilight Zone theme song as the hooked arms and walked inside the coffee shop.

"Oh, my favorite niece!" Angie said, grabbing Angelina's face and kissing both of her cheeks. "It's so good to see you, sweetheart! My, ya look beautiful!" She looked her over, and then turned her attention to Molly. She stared at her for a moment, and then her eyes brightened. "My stars, it's Molly!"

"Wow, you remember me?"

"I could never forget a drowned rat like you!" She patted Molly hardly on the back, causing her to grab onto her beret before it went flying. "Come on in, girls. I'll whip up some hot chocolate for both of you."

Molly winced. "Make it a mocha for me?"

"Anything for you, dear," Angie said, winking. They both took seats on the nearest couch, sitting Indian style. Angelina stared at Molly for a while, acting like she was going to say something, but nothing coming out.

"So…you're not mad at me?" She finally said, looking down at her fingers.

"No," Molly said. "It wasn't really your fault."

"I feel like it was." She sighed. "Did they ever figure out who did it?"

Molly shrugged. "I never heard anything else about it. I guess it's just something that'll go unsolved." She grabbed Angelina's hand. "Don't worry. I'm not mad at you, or anyone else. I've missed my best friend."

Angelina's eyes shined with tears as she smiled a big, toothy smile. "I'm so glad." She held Molly's hand tightly. "I'm so glad to hear that. I've missed my best friend, too." She shook her head, laughing a little bit. "Gwen sucks as a best friend."

Molly laughed. "I'm sure. Thank you," she said as Angie brought them both their drinks. Angie smiled, and then she went over to her CD player, popping a CD in the drive. "Lay Lady Lay" by Bob Dylan came over the stereo. Molly sunk down in her seat. Not a good song for her. Her thoughts drifted back to that night, that fateful night, where they danced and said they loved each other…

Just then, a man in a suit burst into the coffee shop. "Turn on the TV!"

"What channel?" Angie asked, thoroughly concerned. Everyone in the shop looked over at the man, who was positively frantic.

"Any of them! It doesn't matter – it's on every station!"

Angie grabbed the remote and turned on the television.

"…Reports say that the factory stopped putting out smoke at about 2:00 this afternoon. No further word is available on the fate of the Wonka enterprise, or whether or not this time will be the end for Mr. Wonka."

Molly dropped her coffee mug, spilling it all over the floor. "Oh, my God!" She yelled, snapping back into reality. "I'm so sorry, Angie!"

"Don't worry, I'll get it later." Angie seemed entranced by the ticker reporting every bit of information she could. "Why do you think he did it?"

"Is everything all right with you two?" Angelina said, leaning in close to Molly and whispering it in her ear.

Molly shook her head. "No. We broke up about a week ago."

"Holy crap!" Angelina said, putting her hot chocolate on the table and grabbing Molly's face with both hands. "What happened?"

"This isn't the place to talk about it-"

"Hey, aren't you the girl on TV?" The man pointed a finger at Molly.

"What?" She looked up at the screen and gasped.

"…No one is sure what it means, but this footage from a business outside the factory shows a young girl exiting the factory with a suitcase in hand."

"Oh, shit," Molly said, running out of the coffee shop and back to Angelina's car as the people in the shop started to mob her. Her and Angelina hopped in her Saab as soon as they could and drove off, Molly taking her beret off and hiding her head in her knees.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit."

"What the fuck happened with you two?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, I do!" Angelina parked the car in an empty parking lot, outside of a school. "Now, you need to tell me what happened, or I'm going to tell everyone where to find you."

"You wouldn't."

"I wouldn't, but still. You need to tell me."

Molly sighed. "All right, but it's a long story."

"I'm ready." She crossed her arms. Molly could hear her foot tapping against the brake pedal.

"Okay, here goes…" Molly went into all of it – Melody, how she had discovered her existence, and how she looked just like her. She told her about calling him 'the guy from _Lolita_', and how, even after that, he persisted in trying to keep her there. "And then, when I left, I heard him fall to his knees and let out an awful scream."

"We need to dye your hair."

"What?"

"Your hair gives you away. You also need to stop wearing your beret."

"What are you talking about?"

"You need to go into hiding. If you don't, people are going to start asking you questions. I don't think you want that."

"And you're going to help me with that?"

She nodded. "Yep. I'll help with whatever I can. I'll even find a place for you to live, if you want." She stopped and thought for a while. "I think Angie has a place up above the coffee shop. We could room there."

"We?"

"Yeah, we. I'm not letting you do it alone."

"But…I just moved back into my sister's place…"

_Gimme gimme more, gimme more, gimme gimme more…_

"Who is it?"

Molly looked at her phone. "Oh, no, it's Miranda." She answered it. "Hello?"

"Have you seen the TV?"

"Yes, Mira, I have."

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you when I get back home," Molly said, signaling for Angelina to start the car and drive her back. "Just wait."

"Get home ASAP. I want to know what happened." Miranda hung up the phone.

"So, back to your place?"

"Hair dye first," Molly said, taking off her raspberry beret and holding it in her hands. "Then home."

**A/N: TOLD YOU IT WAS DEPRESSING!**

**Oh noes! What's going to happen? The world is ending! Oh noes!**

**Stay tuned to find out…while I fight through my writer's block in NaNoWriMo!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: OMG**

**Such a depressing chapter to write…and even more depressing is the fact that the story is almost over. BOO I KNOW! It's so sad. I'm going to cry when this story is done. This has been an emotional roller coaster for me to write…I've grown attached to this baby. It's ridiculous.**

**Anyways, on with the chapter!**

**Chapter 17  
**

"Look at you as a brunette!" Angelina said after Molly had washed the dye out of her hair and dried it off the best she could. Angelina had gone into the nearest drug store and bought some cheap, really dark brown hair color. She was basically going to give her a makeover – changing her hair and her makeup. They were going to do the best they could to make her not look like herself. "You look good! I'm jealous!"

"You already are a brunette," Molly said, flipping her hair over her shoulder and drying the ends off with the already-brown towel.

"Auburn, thank you," Angelina said, grabbing her shoulders and shoving her down in a chair in Miranda's kitchen. She grabbed a pair of scissors and put Molly's long hair in a low ponytail, leaving about ¾ of her length.

"Now, why am I trusting you with cutting my hair?" She asked, wincing as Angelina made the first cut.

"Because I'm going to beauty school."

"Really?"

"No." She laughed. "I have no idea what I'm doing…I'll probably end up working at the coffee shop to make some money." She cut off the ponytail and stuck it in front of Molly's face. "Here you go!"

Molly held it in her hands like a baby. "Okay. Do what you want with my hair. Just don't make it look bad."

"We're going to have to get you your own straightener to make this work, but I can give you a really cute hairstyle." She ran her own straightener through Molly's hair in the back, making sure she cut it to the right length.

"Whatever," she said, holding her former hair up, "just make it look good."

Angelina smiled. "Your wish is my command." They sat in silence for a while as Angelina snipped and snipped. Molly closed her eyes the whole time, afraid of what it would look like. When Angelina said, "All done", Molly peeked with one eye in the mirror…and was thoroughly surprised.

Her hair was a little past her shoulder, cut in flattering layers. It was flipped in, and, thanks to Angelina's magic, was actually straight all the way through. She had given her low, 60s mod girl bangs that covered her scar, her non-colored eyebrows, and accentuated her hazel eyes.

All in all, she looked good.

"Wow," Molly said, running her fingers through her hair, feeling how light it was. "This looks great, Angel."

"Thanks." Angelina beamed with pride. "I thought it looked pretty good."

"Are you girls done yet – whoa," Miranda said, looking at all the hair on the floor, and then up at Molly. "Oh my God…you look gorgeous, Molly!"

"Do you think people will recognize me?"

Both of them shook their heads. "No one will."

The doorbell rang. Angelina, Molly, and Miranda all jumped. "No one rings the doorbell here," Miranda said, heading over to the door. "They know just to come in." She opened the door, only to be assaulted with thousands of questions.

"Is she here?"

"What can you tell us about her?"

"Is it true what they are saying about her and Willy Wonka?"

Miranda shut the door in their faces, pressing her back up against the door. She reached over and flipped the lock. "Molly," Miranda started, her voice quivering. "How do they know where you live?"

"I don't know," Molly replied, running a hand through her freshly cut hair. A few leftover pieces fell to the floor. "Someone must have tracked me home or something. I have no idea."

Angelina's phone beeped. She pulled it out of her pocket, checked it, and growled.

"What?"

"Or someone could have told them," she said, thrusting the phone in Molly's hands. "Read this."

The message was from Stephen, complete with his own "-growl-" at the top. There was an article from pulled up.

"...Sources tell us that Gwen Swanson, a close friend of Relson's, has said that she has been visiting the factory since she had known her.

'She never took me in there with her,' she said remorsefully. 'It was my lifelong dream, and now…now I'll never get to go.'

"Swanson has also revealed where Relson can be found – in a tiny suburb of Greenwich. Further details will be reported as they come in."

".God." Molly said, resisting the urge to throw the phone against the wall. "That conniving bitch!"

"I never would have thought she had it in her," Angelina said, grabbing the phone from Molly's hand and stuffing it back in her pocket. "I knew she was upset about the whole thing, but I didn't think she'd resort to all of this."

"What am I going to do?" Molly put her head in her hands.

"I don't know, sweetie," Miranda came over to where Molly was sitting and held her close to her. "We'll figure something out."

"I hope so," she said, starting to cry. She was wiping the tears from her eyes when Angelina snapped her fingers.

"I got it!

"What?" Molly and Miranda said in unison. Angelina nodded.

"Roasters! The coffee shop! It's perfect! There's a room up above the shop, remember? I'm sure Angie would let us stay there!" She clapped her hands together. "It's perfect!"

Molly looked at Miranda, her eyes pleading for approval. She didn't want Miranda to be sucked up into this, too, but she felt bad for leaving her sister like that.

Miranda squeezed her hands. "You do what you have to do, sweetie. I just want you to be safe, and all of this," she gestured to the window, "is not that safe. Just keep your phone on."

"Thanks," Molly half-smiled, knowing that her life was about to change. Again.

* * *

After Molly packed everything up in her suitcase for the fifty-millionth time, and after much deliberation between the three of them, Angelina and Molly decided to escape out of the back door and catch a cab to the coffee shop. They completely avoided the paparazzi by taking a few shortcuts through people's yards. Molly picked up her suitcase each time as to not leave wheel imprints. London traffic was terrible, so it took them close to an hour to arrive. By that time, they were ready for a drink.

"My goodness, you look different," Angie said as soon as she saw Molly. Molly looked around the shop, just to make sure no one who was there earlier was in there. No one was. She felt a little better knowing that. Angie handed them both cups of water, and both girls downed them in one gulp. The water cooled Molly's aching throat.

"Witness Protection," Angelina said, patting Molly on the back. "Figured it was the best way to go."

"I see," Angie eyed Molly suspiciously. "You don't look half bad as a brunette."

"Thanks, Angie." She put her cup out for some more water. "It'll take some getting used to."

"Angie, can I talk to you for a minute?" Angelina asked, grabbing her hand before she turned back around. Angie nodded, and the two of them went back in the kitchen. Molly could only hear their muffled conversation through the swinging door, but, after about three minutes, both of them came back out. Angelina resumed her position on the stool next to Molly, and Angie poured them both more water.

"Molly, if you'd like," Angie started, eying her suspiciously, "you can stay here, up in the room above the shop. But –" she turned around to put the water pitcher down on the counter. "I'll have to ask you to do some work as a part of your rent."

"Like…as a barista?" Molly had always wanted to work in a coffee shop.

"Sure, if you want."

"I'm in."

"That goes for you, too, Angelina. You get to be a barista as well…and sing if you want."

"Oooh, I get to sing?"

"Of course. I love hearing your voice."

Molly looked at Angelina quizzically. "How did I not know you could sing?"

Angelina shrugged. "No idea. I do it all the time."

"Never when I'm around."

"Well, you never play your guitar around me."

"I've never had the opportunity."

"Did you bring it?" Angie looked over the counter. "I don't see it."

"No, I left it at Miranda's. I'll ask her to run it over…if you would want me to play sometime."

"I would love it if you played," Angelina said, hugging Molly sideways, "especially if it was with me."

Molly smiled the first real smile she had had all week. "All right. I'll have Mira bring it down."

"Sounds like we'll finally have a house band."

'And it sounds like things are going to pick up.'

* * *

Angelina and Molly sat on the counter behind the main counter, kicking their feet back and forth. No one was in the shop; it was a Saturday afternoon, and the shop was normally empty at that time. There had only been two times in the six months that she had worked there that they were busy at that time. That day was not one of them.

"So, have you talked to Charlie since everything happened?" Angelina asked, looking up at the TV. The factory had become secondary news, though CNN always insisted on bringing it up at some time or another – be it in the ticker or the entertainment news. Molly had seen the grainy picture of her more times than she could count. Even with the reduction of news coverage, it seemed like everywhere she turned, she was reminded of what had happened, and of him.

Willy.

The name rang in her mind. She missed him. Desperately. She cried herself to sleep nearly every night. She knew he had to be feeling the same way and, as much as she wanted to not care, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She wanted to see him.

And she wanted to see Charlie. She missed her best friend.

"No, I haven't," Molly said, jumping down from the counter and grabbing a rag to nervously clean the counter.

"Why not?"

"Because…if I talk to him, he'll talk to Willy, and I really don't want to deal with either one of them."

Angelina was silent for a minute, and then she too jumped down. "You know, I hear you. At night. When you think I can't."

Molly stopped cleaning the counter. Taking a moment, she turned to look at Angelina. "You do?"

She nodded. "Every night, I pray for you. I know this isn't what you want. Why don't you go and fix it?"

"Because it's not right." She resumed cleaning, now moving to the counter in the back. "The whole thing just wasn't right. Nothing about it was real."

"Yes, it was."

Molly paused. "What are you saying?"

"Just because you've haven't talked to Charlie doesn't mean that I haven't."

"You would go behind my back and do that."

"Hey, he's my friend, too. Besides," Angelina grabbed the rag out of Molly's hand and put it back in the bucket. "I'm really worried about you. Like…legitimately worried." She looked up as the bell rang. "And so is Charlie."

Molly looked up, too, and felt her cheeks get red with anger. Angelina had set her up. There, in the doorway, stood Charlie Bucket, looking like a lost sheep.

"I can't believe this." Molly took her apron off and threw it on the ground. "I can't believe this!"

"Molly, please, can we just talk?" Charlie went up to the counter and sat down on a stool. Molly walked to the back and went up the stairs to the room, closing the door behind her and laying down on the bed.

"You're not getting away that easily," Charlie said, following her. He went up the room as well, locking the door behind him. He then sat down on the love seat, crossing his legs and staring at her. He was clearly angry with her. "I came here, hoping we could be mature about this, but it appears that's not going to happen. I want to know what the hell happened, and what you have to say for yourself."

Molly was silent, hiding her face in her pillow.

"All right, I'll tell you what's going on at the factory. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Nothing's being made, nothing's being shipped out – there's nothing happening. Willy has locked himself in his room. No one can get him out. We don't know if he's even alive in there."

Molly looked up, concerned.

"That got your attention. We hear squeaks and such every once in a while, but nothing to really prove that he's coherent." He sighed. "He's really sick, Molly. He needs you."

As much as she hated herself for doing it, she rolled over on her back and uttered the words, "He needs Melody, not me."

"He's already talked to Melody."

"What?" She sat up and looked at Charlie, sending her hair flying. "He talked to her?"

Charlie nodded. "About two months after you left, he went to her house and they had a long talk. He came back looking rather relieved, though still miserable. He locked himself in his room after that and hasn't come out since."

"Oh," was all she could say. She was amazed that Willy had the courage to face Melody after all of these years.

And it was all for her. She knew it was for her.

"He's been in his room for three months?"

"He hasn't come out in three months. I have no idea what his room looks like, so I don't know if there are rooms conjoined to it or anything." His cheeks got red. "You didn't…you didn't ever see it, did you?"

"What? No!" Molly threw a paper wad that had magically appeared at him. "We were never like that."

"I had to ask." Charlie threw the paper wad back at her. They sat in silence for a few minutes, and then he spoke up. "Can you come and see if you can get him out?"

"I'm not going back to the factory, Charlie. There's too many memories there for me to remain composed."

"You don't have to be composed – you just need to get him out of his room."

Molly sighed. "Tell you what. Angelina and I are performing here next Saturday night. Let him know about it. If he comes, he comes. If he doesn't…well…I'll go see him."

"He's not going to come."

"I know…it's just a way to postpone going back."

"So…" Charlie shifted in his seat. "I like your hair."

"Do you?" Molly ran her fingers through her bangs. "I'm still getting used to it."

"When did you do it?"

"After my picture showed up on the news."

"Oh. You look good at a brunette."

"Thank you."

Charlie stayed for another hour, before Angelina kicked him out, saying they had gotten busy. Molly checked her watch, and, seeing that it was five, practically pushed Charlie down the stairs and out the door. He had a chance to wave at Angelina and say 'hi' before he turned around and went on his way to the factory.

**A/N: Two more chapters to go. –sniff-**

**Will he show up?**

**Who knows?**

**Well…I do…but I don't count. Haha.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I'm being bad with NaNoWriMo…but I'm so close to being done with this story that I can't help myself!**

**Oh, and I don't own the songs. No ownership whatsoever.**

**Chapter 18  
**

"What do you all want to hear?" Angelina said as her and Molly sat on the stage on stools. It was Saturday night, and they were about halfway through their performance time.

"Free Bird!" yelled a large man in the front.

"Oh Norman, we played that last week, remember?" Angelina smiled sickeningly. They both did not like Norman. He flirted with both of them like none other - and normally smelled of alcohol.

"But you ladies do such a good job at playing it…" He pouted, as if that would make any difference. Angelina and Molly exchanged looks.

"Any other requests?"

"Do you know 'Break Me' by Jewel?"

Angelina smiled. "I do. Do you, Molly?"

"Surprisingly, as random as that song is, yes, I do know it."

"All right, let's do it."

Molly started off with the intro, picking it very softly. She then went into the first G6 chord effortlessly. She did her best not to listen to the words, since the song made her cry every time she listened to it.

_I will meet you  
In some place  
Where the light lends itself  
To soft repose  
I will let you undress me  
But I warn you  
I have thorns  
Like any rose  
And you could hurt me  
With your bare hands  
You could hurt me  
With the sharp end  
Of what you say  
But I'm lost to you now  
And there's no  
Amount of reason  
That could save me  
_

_So break me  
Take me  
Just let me feel your arms again  
Break me  
I'll let you make me  
Just let me feel your love again_

_Feels like being underwater  
Now that I've let go  
And lost control  
Water kisses fill my mouth  
Water fills my soul_

_So break me  
Take me  
Just let me feel your arms again  
Break me  
Make me  
Just let me feel your love again_

_Kiss me once  
Well, maybe twice  
Oh, it never felt so nice  
_

_So break me  
Take me  
Let me feel your arms again  
Break me  
Make me  
Just let me feel your arms again  
Just let me feel your love again…_

Molly put her guitar down and walked into the bathroom, overcome with emotion. She heard Angelina say, "All right, take five, everyone," and then footsteps back into the bathroom.

"Hey, are you all right?

Molly sniffed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little…emotional."

"You gonna be able to play some more? We're only halfway done."

She nodded, smudging her eyeliner in the mirror. "Yeah, I'll be fine, just as long as we don't play any more depressing songs."

"We could play Free Bird…"

Molly laughed. "Let's not."

"Agreed." They walked back out together. The small, little audience clapped for both of them. "All right, any more requests?"

"'Hand In My Pocket!'"

"Sounds like a plan. Molly?"

* * *

They played a few more songs together, and then called it a night. The two of them went upstairs to their room. Molly lay on the bed while Angelina took her makeup off.

"That was great…except for your little outburst."

"Yeah, well, I couldn't help it. The song just kind of overwhelmed me."

"Understandably so. I'm surprised you agreed to play it."

"Someone wanted to hear it." She sighed. "I'm an entertainer – it doesn't matter if I like the song. It's my job to play it."

There was a knock at the door. Molly went over to the door and opened it. Angie stood there, holding two cups and saucers in her hands. Molly wasn't sure, but she thought that Angie had a sort of secretive air about her.

"For you girls," she said, handing Molly one cup, and then coming in and putting Angelina's on the table.

"Thanks, Angie," Molly said, blowing on the steaming liquid. "It's a mocha, right?"

Angie smiled. "Of course, dear. I know you."

Angelina took a sip of hers. "Wow…this is the best hot chocolate I've ever had."

Molly, curious now, took a sip of her own. She spit it back out. Her eyes widened. "Angie…where did you get this?"

"What's wrong, Molly?" Angelina asked, taking another drink of her hot chocolate.

"It's perfect." She set the cup on a nearby table and bolted down the stairs. "Willy!"

"Go get him, girl!" She heard Angie say down the stairwell as she rounded the corner and ran into the shop. They had closed the shop up, so the entire place was dark. Molly flipped on all of the lights, frantic that he might have left already.

"Jesus, you could have warned me," came that familiar voice. She looked all around, but couldn't find him.

"Where are you?"

"I'm here," he said, waving an arm in the air. The side of one of the booths had blocked him. She ran over to where he was sitting and slid in opposite him, taking in his presence. He had lost quite a bit of weight – he had always been rather thin, but now he was like a Popsicle stick. His skin was paler than normal, and his cheeks had lost their rosy glow. His eyes looked sunken in, and they no longer glittered. Even his hair, which was always kept, had grown out passed his shoulders, and was wavy.

"You look horrible," Molly said, her voice incredibly concerned.

"So do you," he said, looking at her the same way she was looking at him. "Who messed up your hair?"

Molly self-consciously touched her hair. "You don't like it?"

"I'm not a fan of the straight bangs. They block your eyes." He paused. "The color's not bad, though."

"Thank you." She noticed he was wearing his gloves when he started to squeak them. She desperately wanted to reach over and grab his hands to make him stop…but she knew her own hands would be shaking if she did. "So how long have you been here?"

"Since 7," he said, shrugging. 7 was when their performance started.

"So…you saw us play, then?"

He nodded.

"What did you think?"

The right side of his mouth crept up. "Pretty good…for amateurs."

She gently hit his arm. "Oh shush."

"I'm kidding. You were great. Both of you." He looked at her with longing. "I was kind of worried when you left for a few minutes."

"It was a sad song. I didn't want everyone to see me cry."

"I've seen you cry."

"I know, but that doesn't mean that everyone has to see it."

"Was it just because it was a sad song that you cried? Or was it something else?"

She looked over at the Starry Night mural. "I don't know if I want to get into this with you right now."

"Why not?"

"Because I…" she realized she had no idea why not. "I don't know. I just don't."

Willy looked over at the mural as well. "You know, I've always wanted to go there."

"Where?"

"Wherever he was painting. It seems like it would be a nice place to be."

She stared at the painting for a minute, and then at him as he got up and traced his finger over the spirals of light. His burgundy sweater that fit him so well the last time she saw him wear it hung off of him like it was on a hanger. Before she could control herself, she was on her way over to him, her arms stretched out, taking him in her arms and holding him close to her. Molly could tell he was completely shocked by the action, as he didn't return the hug for a good minute. But, eventually, he pulled her close to him. They stood like that for several minutes, until Willy ended the hug, taking his gloves off, stuffing them in his pocket, and cupping her face with his bare hands.

"I've been miserable without you, you know that?"

She nodded. "I know. I haven't been that great, myself."

"I've been in my room for three months."

"I haven't worn either one of my berets in six months."

He gasped. "That's horrible."

"People would recognize me if I did," she said, shrugging. "I'm still kind of upset that I had to let Angelina touch my hair." She grabbed the ends of it with her pointer and middle finger. "I mean, look at the damage that straightener has done to it. I've got split ends galore."

He ran a finger over the ends of her hair, lightly touching the skin on her fingers. "It is pretty damaged." He stared at her hair for a minute, and then his eyes flicked to hers. "I know someone who could take care of that."

"What, back at the factory?"

He nodded, running a hand through his own long hair. "I need a haircut myself. I haven't had my Jesus hair since I was an actor."

Molly giggled. "You call that your 'Jesus hair'?"

"Well, that's what it looks like," he checked his reflection in the large window at the front of the shop. "If I had facial hair to grow, I'd look like Jesus."

"Whatever." She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle. She had to hold him gently; otherwise, she felt like she would snap him in half. "This is nice."

"Yes, yes it is."

"I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too."

"Listen, I-"

"No. We'll talk later." He turned around and took her into his own arms. "Let's just enjoy the moment."

She sighed in response, pulling him closer. She closed her eyes.

After a few minutes of holding each other, they decided to go out for a walk. Molly ran up the stairs, telling Angie and Angelina that she was going to unlock the door. It was a warm night, so Molly didn't worry about grabbing a jacket. She shoved her hands in her pockets as they left the shop, both of them unsure where to begin.

"I…" Willy started, and then stopped for a minute. "I talked to Melody."

"So I heard."

"How?"

"Charlie."

"Oh."

They walked a few more paces. "How did that go?"

"It was fairly awkward at first…but we both lightened up towards the end." She could see him smiling in the moonlight. "It was good to see her again…and good to finally realize that she was nothing more than a friend to me."

Molly looked at the other side of the street, trying not to cry. "I'm sorry, Willy."

"Don't be. You had every right to say what you said." He sighed. "Some of it was true, I realized, especially after I went and talked to her. You two are very much alike. I think that's why you stuck in my brain after the first time you came to the factory."

She looked back at him, her eyes shining. "You remember that?"

He laughed quietly. "My dear, it's not often I get visitors."

"True."

"But, I saw the differences in the two of you…and, quite honestly, I liked the ones in you better than in her."

"What do you mean?"

"I like seeing you do things," he said with a smile. "Like tonight, with you playing. That was the first time I had ever heard you play."

"Really?"

Willy nodded. "Yeah. And I enjoyed it immensely." He looked over at her. "You're very good, you know."

"Thank you," she said, as her cheeks got hot. She hoped he couldn't see it in the moonlight. "I appreciate that."

"You really are. I wish I could have heard you play before."

"I'm surprised you never did."

"You never played anything for me."

"You never sang for me."

He stopped. "Hey, I sang that one time."

"Yeah, but I was crying. That doesn't count."

"Whatever. It does."

She grabbed his hand, pulling him back towards the shop. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Back to the shop. Let's settle this once and for all."

Molly dragged Willy back into the coffee shop. She grabbed her guitar from the corner of the stage and sat down on the edge, playing a few chords. Willy stood in the doorway.

"What are we doing?"

"I play, you sing." She waved him over with her free hand.

"Seriously?"

She nodded. "Come on. It'll be fun."

"What song?"

"Do you know this one?" She started playing a few chords from 'Nights In White Satin' by the Moody Blues.

"Is that 'Nights In White Satin'?"

She nodded. "Good ear." She patted the area next to her. "Sit down and sing."

"I sing better standing up…and over here."

Molly put her guitar down and grabbed his collar, pulling him towards the stage. He eventually gave up on resisting, saying 'okay' a few times. "Geez," he said, flattening his sweater down, "this is my favorite sweater."

"If you don't sing, the sweater is getting stretched out and deformed."

"Fine." They stared at each other for a few seconds. "Well?"

"Well what?" She asked, finding herself getting lost in his eyes – even though they didn't glitter like they used to.

"Aren't you going to give me an intro?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." She played the chord pattern a few times over, making sure she had the right one. She then started picking the chords, string by string. She closed her eyes as soon as Willy started singing, overcome with emotion by how incredibly beautiful and melodic his voice really was.

_Nights in white satin  
Never reaching the end  
Letters I've written, never meaning to send.  
Beauty I'd always missed with these eyes before  
Just what the truth is, I can't say anymore  
_

_ 'Cause I love you  
Yes I love you  
Oh, I love you…_

_Gazing at people  
Some hand in hand  
Just what I'm going through, they can't understand  
Some try to tell me thoughts they cannot defend_

_ Just what you want to be_

_ You will be in the end_

_ And I love you_

_ Yes I love you  
Oh, I love you…_

Molly tried to ignore the fact that she could feel Willy's eyes on her during the entire second verse. Upon thinking about it, she realized that it basically summed up their relationship – both before and now. Molly played the solo very tenderly, trying to get her thought process across to him. He inched closer to her as they continued the song, singing and playing the first verse again, and then the chorus two more times. By the end of the song, their lips were merely centimeters apart.

"Willy…" Molly said breathlessly, opening her eyes for the first time in nearly 7 minutes. She realized how good of a singer he was in that moment; he had been crying for nearly half of the song, judging by the tear marks on his face. "Are you all right?"

"Take me back," he said, grabbing her hand gently. A tear slid down Molly's face. "Please. I can't take it anymore. I need this." He kissed her hand. "I need you."

Molly sat there for a few moments, her head telling her no, and her heart telling her yes. An epic battle waged inside her body until her heart finally won, forcing Molly to attach herself to Willy's lips with such a passion that she thought her own were going to fall off.

"I love you, Molly," he said in between kisses, "I always will."

* * *

"No, I will not accept money from you," Willy argued as he sat in Molly's room with her. They had arranged with Angie the night before that she would still have a job at the shop but not live there anymore. And then, after talking it over with Miranda (who didn't like the idea one bit, but gave up towards the end of the conversation), Molly was finally home free to move back into the factory.

"But I feel like I should give you something for rent," she replied, hanging her Rattle and Hum t-shirt up in the closet. She brushed it off a bit, trying to get rid of the wrinkles. "I don't want to be a free loader."

"You pay me in love. That's all I need." He got up and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her neck. She turned around and kissed him on the lips.

"I'm still going to give you money."

"Can I put it back in your bank account?"

"As long as it touches your hands at some point, sure."

"Great." He kissed her again. "I'm so glad you're here."

"It's good to be back."

"Gross, you guys!" Charlie said as he walked passed the room. "Settle down."

Willy kissed Molly passionately, causing Charlie to fake gag and run down the hallway towards the Invention Room. They both laughed as soon as they couldn't hear his footsteps anymore.

"I should go see what he wanted," Willy said, pouting.

"No," Molly said, hugging him close to her body, "don't go."

"I'll be back, I promise," he said, kissing the top of her head. "I'll always come back for you."

"You're so sweet." They kissed again, and then he left. She watched him walk down the hallway before she jumped up on her bed, rolling over on her stomach and resting her chin on her hands.

'Yeah,' she thought, smiling to herself, 'it's all finally falling into place.'

**A/N: ONE MORE CHAPTER!**

**STAY TUNED!**


	19. Epilogue: Four Years Later

**A/N: I'm going to cry. I'm seriously going to cry. This is it. Nights in White Satin is almost done…-sniff-**

**Enjoy the epilogue!**

**Four Years Later...  
**

Molly stood in front of the mirror, looking at herself. Soon after she had returned to the factory, she had the color in her hair stripped, taking it back to its natural, strawberry blonde color. She also had it shaped back to the way it was – no more straight across bangs. She had been growing it out especially for this occasion. It was now down past her waist, half back, with a few tendrils loose around her face.

She thought she looked pretty. Her white dress was rather simple – off the shoulder, not too revealing, rather flowing. She hoped that Willy would think the same.

The familiar notes filled the back room. She grabbed her bouquet and joined Miranda at the door.

"You ready for this?" Miranda asked breathlessly, flipping the veil over Molly's face.

Molly took a deep breath. "No," she said nervously. They both giggled as they linked arms and started walking down the aisle.

There were very few people there, which was how they had wanted it. They didn't want it to be a big event – no big lights, no cameras, nothing. It was basically Molly's group of friends (minus Gwen, who had been shunned after what she did), Charlie and his family, and Jeff and Sherri. Molly had invited her parents and Marie out of good spirit, but they didn't show up. 'Oh well,' she said, not really caring either way. She knew from the start that she would have Miranda give her away when she got married – not her dad.

'Married,' she thought, staring at her feet, trying not to trip over her dress. 'I'm getting married.' Once she was settled up at the altar, and Miranda had kissed her on the cheek, she finally looked up at Willy.

Her smiled grew big when she saw his face. His jaw was on the floor. "You look beautiful," he mouthed, turning his attention to the preacher as he began to spoke.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Wilbur Wonka and Molly Relson…"

Molly didn't pay attention during most of the ceremony. She was lost in the fact that she was getting married to the one she loved…that she was about to spend the rest of her life with him. She was going to take his last name.

They constantly exchanged glances, both of them obviously giddy. She heard Angelina laugh next to her, as well as Charlie behind Willy. Willy let out a few nervous giggles, and then cleared his throat, his face growing incredibly red. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, the preacher reached the end of the ceremony.

"Do you, Wilbur Alan Wonka, take Molly Christine Relson to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do." She felt her cheeks get red as he looked her square in the eyes when he said it.

"And do you, Molly Christine Relson, take Wilbur Alan Wonka to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," she said with a nervous laugh.

"By the powers vested in me, through the name of Jesus Christ, I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride."

Willy's hands were shaking as he lifted Molly's veil. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her with an intense love. She felt a tear of happiness fall from her eyes as he did so.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Wonka."

**A/N: Soooo? Did you like it? I'm in tears right now. I'm so sad to see this story go…I may write a few one-shots with these two, because I love them so much.**

**Thanks for sticking with me for this long! I really appreciate it. I'm glad I was able to finish this story as well. It makes me feel better as a writer.**

**Love you all!**


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